Well before the invasion, the Red Cross was preparing for the clubmobile programs move to the continent.

The exact date the Army took the Red Cross into their confidence regarding the D-Day invasion is not known, but it was probably in the spring of 1943. The plan was to carry the Clubmobile service to the continent shortly after D-Day.

July 1944. France. View from aboard an LST, showing a deck load of American Red Cross clubmobiles. A convoy of LSTs and escort are in the distance. Photo by Jerry Waller

Each task force would have 30 persons, including a driver, 3 club workers, and 2 cooks and they would be equipped with 10 vehicles, 5 clubmobiles, 1 cinemobile, for movies and live music, a staff car and 3 trucks. The clubmobile groups would have the letters A through L assigned to them. The task forces were to follow as close in the wake of the armed forces as military authorities would permit. They used the 2 ½ ton GMC truck for the clubmobiles.

June 1944. Normandy, France. The Daniel Boone was the first American Red Cross clubmobile to land in Normandy, France, following D-Day and saw action all the way through Austria. This scene shows the clubmobile landing with invasion troops on the Normandy Beach.

The Red Cross supplied water and generators for each group. A driving and maintenance course was given to all Zone V Red Cross personnel. By mid-July 1944, the first clubmobiles groups began arriving in France.

June 1944. Normandy, France. Red Cross Clubmobile units hit the beaches of Normandy, fully equipped for the “doughnut march” to the front. Clubmobiles are staffed with three American girls and prepare coffee and doughnuts with the most modern equipment. Jerry Waller

The Daniel Boone of Clubmobile Group B was the first to land on the beach. 75,000 doughnuts were served the first week of operation. By the end of July, five more clubmobile groups had arrived.

Great Britain — American Red Cross lines up its Clubmobiles in preparation for the “second front.” Photo by Jerry Waller.