I read this once in an oral history of WWII, but don’t remember which one. Candidates for authorship include, I should think, Bill Mauldin, Stephen Ambrose, and maybe Kurt Vonnegut. I believe it’s a true story, and it went … something like this…
A second lieutenant fresh from the States is interrogating German POWs for the first time. While he may have gotten good marks in language school, it’s clear he’s never had any contact with native speakers.
The German decides to have a little fun and drops the word “Kanone,” in this case slang for an “ace” or just “a great guy.”
The lieutenant immediately picks up on the one word he can identify, thinking the POW means “artillery piece.”
“Kanone! Wo ist Kanone?”
The German points at a buddy and says “Er ist Kanone.”
The lieutenant is dumbfounded. “Er ist Kanone?!?”
“Ja,” says the German. “Und *er *ist Kanone, und *er *ist Kanone,” pointing to other guys in the room.
The lieutenant is completely lost, and the other GIs in the room are trying hard to keep from laughing.
Anybody recognize this?