[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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