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You have German soldiers and snipers moving through tunnels, through the walls of the houses, and then on top of that you have to worry about a German tank coming around the corner." They're worried about Germans dug into the basement. "I think there was something about Cologne," said Makos. "Clarence had seen a lot of death and destruction, but it was this moment in Cologne that stayed with him," said Doane. "He had heard somebody said, 'Hey, they've uncovered the film of the 3rd Armored Division fighting in Cologne and I think that's your tank.' And he plugged it into his VHS player, and the war came back to him."

Historian Adam Makos is author of the book, "Spearhead" (out in February), which chronicles Clarence Smoyer's battles through Europe. He admits he's a little confused between what he recalls from that day versus what he later saw in that film stored away for decades at the National Archives.

He said it was the film that jogged his memory.

"All the time I see her, I see her lying in the street." Katharina Esser, after the car she was in was hit by gunfire during a tank battle in Cologne, Germany, in the final days of World War II.ĭoane went back to that street, now bustling, with Smoyer.