[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 22, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7366-H7368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING OUTSTANDING EFFORTS OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES WHO
VOLUNTEERED OR DONATED ITEMS TO NORTH PLATTE CANTEEN DURING WORLD WAR
II
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 161) recognizing the
outstanding efforts of the individuals and communities who volunteered
or donated items to the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska,
during World War II from December 25, 1941, to April 1, 1946, as
amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 161
Whereas at the beginning of World War II residents of North
Platte, Nebraska, received information that members of the
Nebraska National Guard from the North Platte area would be
traveling through the community of North Platte on a troop
train en route to the west coast;
Whereas residents of the North Platte community met the
troop train on December 17, 1941, with food and other gifts
for the troops when they arrived at the Union Pacific train
station;
Whereas although the troop train carried young men from
Kansas instead of members of the Nebraska National Guard, the
residents of North Platte presented the young men from Kansas
with the food and other items that were donated;
Whereas Rae Wilson, of North Platte, proposed establishing
the North Platte Canteen to the North Platte community so
residents would greet every troop train that traveled through
North Platte and provide the military troops with comforts
from home on their way to serve their country during World
War II;
Whereas on December 25, 1941, the North Platte Canteen
began serving food and other items to the United States
military troops traveling across the United States to either
the east or west coast before being shipped overseas;
Whereas during World War II, the North Platte Canteen
routinely greeted and served food to between 3,000 and 5,000,
and up to a maximum of 8,000, uniformed personnel on a daily
basis for an approximate total of 6,000,000 personnel from
every corner of the Nation;
Whereas individuals from 125 communities in Nebraska,
Colorado, and Kansas donated food and volunteered at the
North Platte Canteen over its period of operation of
approximately 5 years;
Whereas the North Platte Canteen operated strictly with
volunteers from local communities, organizations, churches,
schools, and other groups and received no Federal assistance
for its operation;
Whereas the North Platte Canteen received $137,000 in cash
contributions from benefit dances, scrap-metal drives, school
victory clubs, donation cans in local businesses, and
relatives of servicemembers who traveled through the Canteen
to help maintain the Canteen's operations over its period of
operation;
Whereas the North Platte Canteen during one month alone
served over 40,000 homemade cookies, 30,000 hard-boiled eggs,
nearly 7,000 cup, loaf, and birthday cakes, and over 2,800
pounds of sandwich meat to serve to uniformed personnel;
Whereas a typical daily shopping list might include 175
loaves of bread, 100 pounds of meat, 15 pounds of cheese, 2
quarts of peanut butter, 45 pounds of coffee, 40 quarts of
cream, and 500 half-pint bottles of milk;
Whereas the greatest contribution of the North Platte
Canteen to the war effort was as a morale booster and a
reminder to servicemembers of the American values and ideals
for which they were fighting; and
Whereas the North Platte Canteen was honored and recognized
by the United States military with the War Department's
Meritorious Wartime Service Award: Now, therefore, be it--
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress--
(1) recognizes the outstanding efforts of the individuals
and communities involved with the North Platte Canteen that
served the needs of 6,000,000 military personnel, who
traveled through North Platte, Nebraska, on troop trains from
December 25, 1941, to April 1, 1946, during World War II; and
(2) requests that the President issue a proclamation
recognizing the gallant efforts of those who made enormous
sacrifices to make the North Platte Canteen a success during
World War II.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Franks) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks).
General Leave
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under
consideration, H. Con. Res. 161.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume, and I stand today in support of House Concurrent Resolution
161, sponsored by my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne). This very appropriate resolution recognizes the
true American spirit demonstrated by the people of North Platte,
Nebraska, during the Second World War. It is the spirit of unwavering
dedication to a cause and noble sacrifice for our troops. This is the
same spirit that won the Second World War, Mr. Speaker.
The actions of these Americans to build a community center, a
canteen, if you will, for our troops, at their own expense and not at
the U.S. Government's expense exemplifies the generous heart and
patriotic resolve of the people of the Great Plains. Their past
devotion to our men in uniform is unforgettable, and it is only fitting
that when our country is now at war with terrorism that we recognize
the efforts of those on the homefront in our history.
I commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) for his fine work
[[Page H7367]]
with this legislation. Today, we in the United States Congress are
honored to express our sincere gratitude to the people of North Platte,
Nebraska, and our great friend, the gentleman from Nebraska, and to
join him in this fine resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume, and I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 161
introduced by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
I am very pleased to be here today with my colleague on the House
Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks),
to recognize the wonderful efforts of the citizens of North Platte,
Nebraska, for their support of the troops during World War II.
Mr. Speaker, as I have learned about this, I am amazed to find out
how hard the people of North Platte worked to find out about the brave
young men that were heading off to battle. Their compassion and the
generosity displayed by these fine citizens should be commended as a
shining example of kindness for future generations of Americans.
As World War II reached its peak, the canteen was serving 3,000 to
5,000 service members each day. The daily shopping list included 160 to
175 loaves of bread, 100 pounds of meat, 15 pounds of cheese, 18 pounds
of butter, 45 pounds of coffee, 40 quarts of cream, 500 half-pints of
milk and 35 dozen rolls, along with 18 to 20 birthday cakes given to
those celebrating their birthdays.
{time} 1500
This may not sound like much today, but it is truly amazing since
many of these individuals and families were donating all of these items
while food and other goods were being rationed across the country.
Another thing that struck me was how the North Platte Canteen came
into existence. On December 17 of 1941, rumors abounded throughout the
town that a train carrying members of the Nebraska National Guard was
to arrive. The train did, carrying hundreds of soldiers; but they were
not from Nebraska. The troops traveling that day through North Platte
were from Kansas. This did not stop hundreds of local citizens from
North Platte from greeting the soldiers from out of state and from
expressing their deep gratitude.
Of course, North Platte resident Miss Rae Wilson suggested that the
town establish a canteen to welcome all the troops traveling through
the city so that those heading off to war could have a taste of home on
their long journey. The 12,000 citizens of North Platte agreed, and
over time clubs and organizations began to contribute volunteers, food,
and funding. And pretty soon everyone got together to support the
canteen. There were benefit movies and dances, scrap metal drives, and
other donations. All contributed to the effort. In all, men, women, and
children from over 125 communities, some as far as Colorado and Kansas,
worked together to care for the troops during these quick 10-minute
train stops. When the doors of the Service Men's Canteen in the Union
Pacific Railroad Station in North Platte closed on April 1, 1946,
almost 55,000 volunteers from 125 communities had served 6 million
servicemen and -women.
While other canteens existed across the country during World War II,
North Platt's canteen may have been the most famous. We no longer have
canteens across the country to support our troops, but American
citizens still continue the spirit of charity through their support of
USO centers and other organizations around the world.
I urge my fellow Americans to follow in the footsteps of these
patriotic citizens and continue their efforts to support our brave
servicemembers today. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), the sponsor of this resolution.
Mr. OSBORNE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Franks) for yielding me this time, another member of the Committee on
Armed Services.
As was mentioned, on December 25, 1941, it was rumored that there
would be a troop train coming through North Platte, Nebraska and would
have a number of North Platte area troops on it. So it being Christmas
Day, a great number of residents of the community decided that they
ought to go down and meet the train and provide some food and show them
they were appreciated on Christmas Day. It turned out that the troops
were not from Nebraska, as was mentioned earlier, but rather from
Kansas. So I guess the citizens of North Platte were a little bit
disappointed. But at the same time, they saw the appreciation and they
saw the need for this. So Rae Wilson asked the citizens of North Platte
to do this for all troop trains.
Many people are not familiar with the geography of Nebraska, but
North Platte is a major railroad center. And at that time, most of the
trains moving from the East Coast to the West Coast went through North
Platte, Nebraska. So this was a massive undertaking. And from that day,
December 25, 1941, through April 1, 1946, a span of about 5\1/2\ years,
the members of North Platte and surrounding communities met every troop
train that went through there, and that averaged sometimes as many as
23 trains a day; and this went on day and night. So sometimes the troop
train arrived at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, and yet there were
people there to meet them.
As was mentioned earlier, about 55,000 volunteers served in this
effort, and this is somewhat notable in that North Platte itself had a
population of 12,000. This is a sparsely populated area. So probably
the whole population within 100 miles of North Platte did not much
exceed the 55,000. So people from northern Kansas, from Colorado, from
that part of Nebraska served in this rather massive effort over the
time.
It was mentioned what the daily amount of food dispensed was, and I
thought I would flesh this out a little bit and give the Members a
monthly total. This was documented at one time. It is estimated that
each month troops consumed 40,000 cookies, 30,000 hard-boiled eggs,
6,500 doughnuts, 4,000 loaves of bread, 3,000 pounds of meat, 450
pounds of butter, 1,300 pounds of coffee, 1,200 quarts of ice cream,
and so on. And as was mentioned earlier, again, this was done during a
time of rationing.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I am old enough to remember that time.
And at that time I think the speed limit was 45 miles an hour to
conserve gasoline. One could only get so many gallons of gasoline per
week. They could not buy an automobile. Butter was rationed. Meat was
rationed. So these people were really donating items from their own
families' allotment and using their own gasoline to do this because
there was not one dime of Federal money that was involved in this
effort. So it was rather interesting.
The other thing that was done in this particular effort was that at
that time there were no pay phones around; so if a soldier wanted some
family member called, these people would take down the number and they
would call the family and say, We met so and so, he was coming through
here, he is fine, or mail letters and so on. So these things were all
very important to the servicemen.
I wanted to introduce this resolution for two reasons: number one, as
we know, many of the veterans of World War II are not going to be with
us much longer; and also those who served at the North Platte Canteen,
many of them have passed on and a few of them are still left, and they
are not going to be with us much longer either. So we wanted to
recognize them while there was still time. And this has been certainly
memorialized in a book that has been written, a television documentary
that was done as well.
And then the second reason was I wanted to simply point out what
unity of purpose can accomplish. Right now we are locked in a struggle,
and the question is, How unified are we? What direction are we going as
a country? And at that time in 1941, December 25, we were certainly not
a military power. We certainly were not anywhere near what the Soviet
Union at that time or certainly Germany or Japan were militarily. And
yet within about a year and a half, we became the strongest military in
the world; and within 4
[[Page H7368]]
years we had pretty much taken control in World War II.
So I would just like to mention that Rosy the Riveter, the Victory
Gardens, and all of those things that took place at that time were
critical. And it was so critical that everyone pulled together,
everyone was willing to sacrifice, everyone was willing to give up
something from their own family, from their own well-being to serve the
troops. So we appreciate the support of this particular resolution.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
this time.
I too rise in support of H. Con. Res. 161 and salute the people and
the communities that volunteered and donated to North Platte Canteen. I
can remember our own canteen in my hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota, in
World War II when I was just a youngster.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), cosponsor of the resolution.
(Mr. TERRY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. TERRY. Madam Speaker, I want to compliment the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) for introducing this. He represents the North
Platte area.
This is such a magnificent piece of our Nebraska history, and it
really represents the comradery and spirit of America here. The
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) had mentioned that even in a town
of 12,000 that over the period of the months of this canteen, there
were literally tens of thousands of volunteers that came to help the
servicemen and provide them services at this canteen in North Platte.
And this canteen needed all of the support that it could get.
And word spread, literally spread, around the community and all of
Nebraska; 125 communities came together to join in this effort. And due
to fuel rationing, volunteers often carpooled from nearby communities
to North Platte. Cities throughout Nebraska gave, through donations,
time, money, supplies, food, meat. And it is really an incredible
example of what it means to be an American at that time. The entire
community gathered together to support and comfort these troops. Men,
women, children all gave their time, money, efforts. Though it may not
have been well known throughout the rest of the world, the memory of
the North Platte Canteen still glows in the hearts of many Nebraskans.
In fact, my own press secretary's mother talks proudly of peeling
potatoes as a young child to help her older sisters at the canteen.
{time} 1515
Lorene Huebner, of Hershey, Nebraska, just a teenager during this
time, still remembers the piano in the canteen, and how it was always
being played by either a volunteer or one of the troops and how packed
the canteen would get with people talking, having coffee and laughing.
She still feels that the whole U.S. was opened up to her through the
troops from all across the country that she met in this canteen.
From December 25, 1941, through April 1, 1946, a total of 54 months,
over 6 million troops were served at the North Platte Canteen. The
outreach of communities to support each other remains an enduring mark
of compassion and patriotism. That spirit is with us today in a
different form, yes, but no less potent.
It is with great honor that I cosponsored this with my colleague, the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), and really look forward to the
vote on this.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran), another cosponsor of this
resolution.
Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I am here to lend my support for
not only this resolution, but for the epitome that it represents, the
story it tells about folks from the middle of the country, in this case
from Nebraska.
Sometimes, particularly during football season, it is unusual for any
Kansan to be here speaking about something good happening in Nebraska,
but it is this story that the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne)
tells about an historic event that is still part of people's lives of
Nebraska and how it affected Kansas. In fact, it affected many soldiers
across the country who made the trek across Nebraska on the train and
stopped in North Platte at the canteen. In fact, the first soldiers
that were cared for at the canteen were from my State of Kansas.
The gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) explained this story to me
one day 4 or 5 months ago, and as he was talking about the sacrifice
that those Nebraskans made, those individual farmers, those families,
those young men and women, those kids, to try to make a difference in
the lives of soldiers who were facing an uncertain future, I could just
sense the emotion that the gentleman had for the sacrifice that was
made. In fact, it seems to me that tears kind of welled up in the eyes
of the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
Again, I think those of us who come from middle America recognize the
kind of people that we have the honor to represent, recognize the
people who make up the history and tradition of our States and what a
difference they make, how much they care.
So I am here to join the gentleman from Nebraska in honoring
something that happened that was great about middle America, but really
exemplifies not only America then, not only middle America, but all of
America, and, most importantly, exemplifies what still goes on in our
country today, the concern for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and
Marines.
Once again, as our country is calling our men and women in active
duty to service in the war on terror, it is an appropriate time for us
to recognize those who cared in the past, and once again call upon all
Americans to serve and sacrifice for the soldiers and families who
serve our country so nobly today.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to have this opportunity today to join
with my colleagues in thanking the people of North Platte for setting
such a fine, genuine example of support and patriotism for our troops
and for our country.
Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I would just remind all of us that we are fortunate to
have people like those in North Platte, Nebraska, that have such a
patriotic spirit and are so committed to serving our troops. I would
encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
161, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as
amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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