North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act

Home-front volunteerism was integral to the victory of the United States during World War II. Numerous exemplars of patriotism emerged throughout the Midwest, galvanizing the rural United States and the rest of the country supporting the war effort.

The North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, was one of the largest volunteer efforts of World War II.

Canteen services boosted morale in the United States by providing free, wholesome entertainment to troops traveling across the country. Approximately 120 community-based canteens operated in the United States during World War II.

The North Platte Canteen greeted and served food to approximately 6,000,000 United States troops traveling across the United States from December 25, 1941, to April 1, 1946.

On December 17, 1941, the residents of North Platte, Nebraska, received information that a train of Nebraska National Guardsmen would be traveling through North Platte en route to the West Coast of the United States. Although the train carried members of the Kansas National Guard, residents of the community welcomed the men from Kansas with food and other items as an appreciation for their service.

On December 18, 1941, Rae Wilson, of North Platte, proposed to her community the idea of establishing the North Platte Canteen so that residents could greet United States troops en route to serving the United States in the European Theater or the Pacific Theater.

55,000 individuals, the majority of whom were women, from 125 communities in Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas donated food and volunteered at the North Platte Canteen for approximately 5 years.

The North Platte Canteen provided hospitality to as many as 24 troop trains per day. During a 1-month period, the volunteers at the Canteen served over 40,000 homemade cookies, 30,000 hard-boiled eggs, 6,500 doughnuts, 4,000 loaves of bread, 3,000 pounds of meat, 450 pounds of cheese, 60 quarts of peanut butter, 1,350 pounds of coffee, 1,000 quarts of cream, 750 dozen rolls, and 600 birthday cakes.

The North Platte Canteen principally operated at the Union Pacific Railroad station in North Platte, Nebraska, with volunteers from local communities, organizations, churches, schools, and other groups, and without Federal assistance.

$137,000 in cash contributions supported the operations of the North Platte Canteen for almost 5 years. The funds were raised through benefit dances, scrap-metal drives, school victory clubs, donation cans in local businesses, and from the relatives of troops who traveled through the North Platte area.

In December 1943, the North Platte Canteen was honored by the United States Army with the presentation of the Meritorious Wartime Service Award by the Secretary of War.

In 2004, the 108th Congress passed a resolution recognizing the heroic efforts of those who made enormous sacrifices to make the North Platte Canteen a success during World War II.