Anthon, Ia., Military Policeman Popular on Italian Front
With the Fifth Army, Italy—Pfc. Lloyd A. Swanson, Anthon, Ia., military policeman with the 91st “Powder River” division, has earned the name of “The Five Miles an Hour Kid,” on the Fifth army front in Italy.
Formerly a cowpuncher in California, Swanson has gained fame through his manner of enforcing traffic regulations. Stationed at the entrance to a town through which traffic must proceed at a maximum speed of five miles per hour, to prevent accidents in the crowded streets, he has made his presence felt by expressions he uses to remind drivers of the speed limit.
He has an answer to all the usual remarks of speeders, some of which are: “So you didn’t see the sign, well back up and take a good look at it. You will remember it next time.”
“So your speedometer is broken, well pull in to ordnance and have it fixed now.”
“I know that you are in a hurry to get the war over with, but the fellows who are working in this town want to get it over with too, and they can’t do it from a hospital bed.”
Civilians as well as the G. I.’s have learned that he means to enforce the speed limit and all other regulations as well.
His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Swanson, live in Anthon, and a sister, Mrs. C. J. Myers, lives at Richmond, Cal.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, Thursday, March 8, 1945
