The decorations for the dance at the American base incorporate the Morse code symbol for "V" (...-). This was commonly used in World War II as a symbol for victory and was often associated with the first four notes in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
The sinking of the Reuben James mentioned by Captain Kieffer took place prior to America's entrance in the War with a loss of 115 lives.
This story focuses on the arrival of American troops in Hastings. By the time of the Normandy invasion, the number of military personnel (American, British, B.E., French, Polish and other military refugees), as well as the masses of vehicles, ammunition, supplies and equipment that had been gathered in the British Isles were so great that it was often said that the only thing keeping England afloat was the barrage balloons.
This tale focuses on American/British tensions. A popular British description of Americans at the time was, "Overpaid, oversexed, and over here."
Taylor and Susan are in the hay barn and hear gunshots. Taylor says it is probably Farmer Giles and his blunderbuss. J. R. R. Tolkien's story "Farmer Giles of Ham" does contain a blunderbuss and was written in 1939 but not published untill 1949.