A feel-good story for those of us who need one after all the negativity of the last few months.
A remarkable event occurred in June in western Nebraska, a reflection of a city’s history, pride and appreciation for the military. The spirit of the North Platte Canteen resurrected itself.
The history of the North Platte Canteen can be traced back to December 17, 1941. Just ten days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, men of the 134th Infantry Regiment of the Nebraska Army National Guard were on their way from Camp Joseph T. Robinson near Little Rock, Arkansas to an unknown destination. Rumor had it that the train would arrive at 11, but by noon it hadn’t shown up. After another false alarm, the train finally rolled in around 4:30. By this time, at least five hundred relatives and friends of local servicemen showed up at the depot.
The crowd cheered, but they weren’t members of the 134th. The crowd gave the soldiers the gifts and food that was originally meant for their own sons and wished them off.
Trains stopped in North Platte because the town was a designated tender point for steam trains. Stopping the train allowed for the train crews to relubricate the wheels, top off the water levels in the tanks, and other things for maintenance of the locomotive. This practice continued until the Union Pacific Railroad switched to diesel locomotives.
Of the people at the depot, twenty-six-year-old Rae Wilson, a drugstore sales girl, witnessed the hospitality. That evening she had an idea to meet all the trains that went through North Platte and give the soldiers the same type of sendoff. The next day she suggested that the meeting of soldiers become a permanent occurrence.
Calls to merchants came with requests for cigarettes and tobacco, while housewives were asked to contribute cake and cookies, with attempts to get the younger women to hand out the gifts and keep conversation up with the soldiers
After a while, the women began to serve a thousand men a day. Over one hundred and twenty five communities donated their time to work at the canteen. Some people travelled as far as two hundred miles to take turns on regularly appointed days.
At the end of the war, the canteen continued to operate as men were returning home. Eventually it closed on April 1, 1946 having served over six million servicemen and women.
On June 18 and 19, the city of North Platte, without fanfare or media notice, welcomed 21 buses carrying more than 700 Arkansas National Guard soldiers. Townsfolk provided food, drinks and even birthday cakes.
The 142nd Field Artillery Brigade of the Arkansas Army National Guard had been training in Wyoming, sleeping outdoors. They were headed home. The bus ride would take 18 hours.
The bus company contacted the Visitors Bureau to ask if the town could accommodate busloads of soldiers “and get them out in an hour.” The buses were scheduled about an hour apart over two days.
As reported by Job Vigil of the North Platte Telegraph:
When Amanda Connick heard the soldiers would be coming through and just wanted to stop for sandwiches, she had a larger idea.
“When I got off the phone with the (tour bus company), I went right in to Lisa’s office and said, ‘Can we do something more,’” Connick said. “Can we make this into the North Platte Canteen, and she said, ‘Absolutely.’”
They had four days to get ready. That meant quickly mobilizing lots of volunteers. But the military had imposed one condition: For national security reasons, there could be no use of media to spread the word.
The bureau contacted the chamber of commerce, which began calling businesses, service clubs, churches and other groups that might volunteer.
Griffin, of the historical museum, said the response was amazing.
It was a complete surprise to the soldiers, most of whom had never heard of the North Platte Canteen in World War II.
More than 700 service men and women filed off their buses and into a warm welcome at the D&N Event Center. North Platte residents lined the entryway and cheered and clapped as the surprised soldiers made their way inside.
Mayor Dwight Livingston stood at the front of the crowd to greet the soldiers.
“It just can’t get much better than this,” Livingston said. “You want to talk about goose bumps, I’ve got them.”
Many of the soldiers did not know anything about the WWII Canteen, nor did they know what awaited them at their stop in North Platte.
“This is a very good surprise,” said Staff Sgt. Thomas Carter. “This is great.”
Sgt. Maj. Steve Griffin said the troops were traveling back to their home base after training in Wyoming.
“We were just intending to stop and have lunch, and nobody let us know that this was waiting for us,” Griffin said. “It’s amazing. Many of these young men and women have never experienced anything like this.”
In a press release, Burke wrote,“These young men and women hadn’t had a real meal in weeks. They had been out on maneuvers and living off of MRE’s. Steak sandwiches, cold sandwiches, potato salad, deviled eggs and cookies galore filled the empty stomachs. Continuing a Canteen tradition, nearly two dozen birthday cakes were given out, including for one young man’s 21st birthday, who had never had a birthday cake before.”
The smiles on the faces of both the service men and women as well as the volunteers told the story as all got a glimpse of what it was like in WWII.
“What hit home with me,” said Jim Griffin, director of the Lincoln County Historical Museum, “is that a 20-year veteran who’d been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan said he’d attended a lot of amazing homecomings, but this was over and above anything he had seen.”
“Then I stood off to the side watching scene after scene, playing out the same way I’ve seen in old pictures,” Griffin said. “Everybody was doing the same things. The only thing different was the clothes they were wearing.”
“I think it was something North Platte needed,” Griffin said. “It really gave everyone a sense of pride and rejuvenated the community.”
This is what a free people can do to support and honor those who defend our country. Thank you, North Platte!