The jeep with the klaxon

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Sue Smith on behalf of Mr. Alistair Donald and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr. Donald fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

During the war I served with the Royal Marines. On D Day I was training on landing craft at Burnham on Crouch on the East Coast, and we were completely unaware of the events unfolding on the South Coast until we heard it on the service radio. We were training with the Americans and had stopped at a café for coffee and doughnuts, a particular favourite of the American troops. I was talking to an American officer about weapons when he said, “Have you ever seen one of our 45’s?” to which I replied “No”.
“Say Joe, go across and get my 45. You know my jeep don’t you, the one with the funny horn”, he said to one of his junior soldiers. The sight of a jeep being driven up with a klaxon horn blaring compounded my amazement that an officer should speak in such a casual manner.
“Do you like the horn?” he laughed. “I saw it on a London cab and bought it off the driver. Good eh?”
This small incident has remained in my memory to this day, as it typified the contrasting attitude towards rank of the two armies.

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