[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 103 (Monday, June 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4579-S4580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE ``MERCI TRAIN'' IN VERMONT
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Vermonters needn't look far to see evidence
of the deep French roots running through our State. From towns such as
Montpelier and Isle La Motte, to the apt naming of Vert Mont, the Green
Mountain State, generations of Vermonters were raised in homes where
the native language was not English, but French. Deep ties to our
neighbors to the north in Canada continue this rich culture in Vermont
communities today.
It is no wonder then that I have such strong memories of stories
about the ``Merci Train'' in Vermont. In the aftermath of World War II,
Vermonters, like people across the country, rallied together to provide
supplies for war-torn communities throughout France and Italy.
Vermonters sent food and other gifts, through Burlington and Rutland,
down to Boston, where they became part of ``the Friendship Train,'' a
convoy of rail cars that traveled through France as part of one of the
more remarkable humanitarian efforts after World War II.
I well remember my mother and father bringing my older brother and my
youngest sister and me to see it. As children, we may not have fully
understood what it meant, but for years thereafter, I would go past it,
being more and more aware. As a Montpelier native, I join with
everybody else with in having pride having that the Merci Train was
there.
The Merci Train was France's response, a year later, thanking
Americans for their support. Filled with trinkets from French citizens,
crafts made by school aged children, and other items, cars from the
Merci Train traveled to each State. One arrived in Vermont on February
10, 1949. Its arrival was heralded by the playing of our national
anthem, as well as the French revolutionary hymn ``La Marseillaise'' by
the Montpelier High School Band. Its contents, sincere expressions of
appreciation from French families, were unpacked and distributed to
Vermonters.
While the Merci Train's freight represented the gratitude of a
nation, the railroad car itself held the history of two World Wars.
Displayed behind the Vermont Supreme Court in Montpelier for a number
of years, the car originally served as a railroad boxcar to haul
military cargo. Often referred to as ``40 and 8s,'' in reference to
their 40-man or 8-horse capacities, the cars regularly transported
American soldiers throughout Europe. Upon the car's arrival in Vermont,
it was displayed temporarily behind Vermont's Supreme Court building,
where it remained until the 1950s. Removed to the Vermont State Police
headquarters, it faced deterioration. A movement in the 1980s--with the
support of veterans, private companies, the Vermont National Guard, and
``40 and 8'' enthusiasts--led to the car's restoration. Today it
remains preserved and on display at the Vermont National Guard Library
and Museum, a fitting tribute to the strong ties between Vermont and
France and another window into the fascinating history on which our
great State is built.
I ask unanimous consent that the May 30 article from the Times Argus,
``The Merci Train in Vermont,'' by Paul Heller, be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Times Argus, May 30, 2016]
The Merci Train in Vermont
(By Paul Heller)
Local radio celebrity Bob Bannon was master of ceremonies
as 500 Vermonters gathered at the railroad station in
Montpelier to receive a remarkable gift from the people of
France.
The present was an antique boxcar filled with gifts from
ordinary French citizens--a way of saying ``thank you'' or
``Merci'' for American assistance during and after World War
II.
A similar gift had been presented to each of the 48 states
with an additional one for Washington, D.C. The convoy had
been dubbed the ``Merci Train,'' and the old railroad cars
known as ``40 and 8s'' were carried to their destinations by
rail.
The one that arrived in Montpelier on February 10, 1949,
had been delivered on an American railroad flatcar and was
opened in a ceremony that had started with a ``Vermont
Welcomes France'' breakfast. Later, at the train station, the
Montpelier High School band played ``The Star Spangled
Banner'' and ``La Marseillaise.'' The Montpelier V.F.W. post
provided a color guard carrying the flags of the U.S.,
France, and Canada.
Officially known as ``Le Train de la Reconnaissance de
Francaise,'' the ``Merci Train'' was a response to the U.S.
railroad convoy a year earlier that had made a similar trip
the other way.
That 1947 version was called ``The Friendship Train'' and
had made stops at various large U.S. cities where the cars
were filled with food and other gifts from ordinary Americans
to offer relief to war-ravaged France and Italy. The
Friendship Train was the inspiration of nationally syndicated
columnist Drew Pearson, who led the humanitarian effort that
put individual Americans in a direct charitable relationship
with their counterparts in France.
It is estimated that relief supplies valued at $40,000,000
were sent to France and Italy in this fashion. Although the
Friendship Train did not come to Vermont for donations, the
Burlington Free Press was careful to assert that the Green
Mountain State was worthy of this gift from France.
Many Vermonters may feel that the Merci Train, bearing
gifts from the French people for the people of Vermont, is
entirely a one-way transaction. They remember that the
Friendship Train, which went from coast to coast picking up
food gifts for the hungry people of Italy and France, did not
come to Vermont.
Thus it might appear that Vermont is being thanked for
something it didn't do. But while the train did not come
here, some Vermonters made their contributions just the same.
Food gifts from different parts of the state were sent
through Burlington and Rutland down to Boston, where they
made up part of the Friendship Train.
Of course, many Vermonters served in the armed forces to
help secure an Allied victory in Europe. France, recognizing
the sacrifices of all Americans to save their republic, gave
a similar gift to each state in the union.
The Vermont car was unpacked and gifts distributed by Earl
Newton, director of the Vermont Historical Society, who was
sensitive to the need for equity. Vermont legislators took
token gifts back to their towns and many items, when
appropriate, were given to high school French classes.
The gifts were sincere expressions of appreciation such as
small knickknacks that a French family might own. There were
many pieces made by French schoolchildren who also included
toys and dolls in the shipment.
Vermont Governor Gibson, reported the Burlington Free
Press, accepted the car for Vermont and said ``the gifts it
contained were great in spiritual value and that the people
of Vermont would accept them in that sense.'' He added, ``the
gifts would be accepted in a spirit of humility and
friendship and that the people of Vermont would continue to
march shoulder to shoulder with the people of France so that
liberty, peace, and freedom might continue for all time.''
Many of the gifts included letters and drawings from French
schoolchildren, and they were clearly intended for children
in the United States. The letters were often addressed,
``Chers petits amies d'Amerique . . .'' (Dear little friends
of America). These gifts received in Montpelier were mostly
sent to museums and schools throughout the state.
While the gifts were mostly sentimental tokens of
friendship, it was the railroad car itself that was to prove
to be the most unique and lasting legacy of the ``Merci
Train.'' The old railroad car, small by modern standards, was
informally referred to as a ``40 and 8.''
Manuel Conley's history of the specialized cars noted,
``During two wars they served France as dual purpose railroad
boxcars hauling the military cargoes stenciled on their sides
``HOMMES 40 CHEVAUX 8''. A more precise colloquialism might
have been ``40 or 8'' as the designation referred to the
cars' capacity to carry 40 men or eight horses in an era when
the horse-cavalry was an essential part of a military force.
During the First World War American doughboys were carried
to the front in just such cars and veterans of the Great War
had vivid memories of that unique mode of transport.
According to Conley, Americans were alternately enchanted and
disgusted, intrigued and infuriated by the little dual-
purpose cars. Sometimes they were just confused.
In ``The Doughboys: The story of the AEF,'' Laurence
Stallings tells of one sergeant who reported to his leader:
``I got all my 40 artillerymen in the boxcar, lieutenant. But
if you try to pull eight of our horses in, somebody's gonna
be trampled to death!''
Conley notes that the cars had been updated for their new
purpose in the ``Merci Train.'' ``All had been repaired,
freshly painted, and decorated with plaques bearing the coats
of arms of the 40 provinces of France. Across their sides,
upon tricolored
[[Page S4580]]
bands, was printed the name of the enterprise for which they
stood: on one side `Train de la Reconnaisance Francaise' and
on the other `Gratitude Train.'''
The French citizens embraced the idea of thanking America
for its sacrifice and generosity and they scoured the
countryside for 40 and 8s that could be reconditioned as
gifts to each state in America.
``By the end of 1948 the boxcars were filled to capacity.
The train carrying over two hundred and fifty tons of
gratitude was pulled to the port of Le Havre for shipment to
America.'' The cars were loaded on a freighter bound for
Weehawken, New Jersey. Upon arrival, the cars, with a wheel
base eight inches wider than standard U.S. tracks, were
loaded on flatcars for delivery to their final destinations.
Vermont's Merci car first arrived in Vermont at Brattleboro
on February 9, 1949 at 11 in the morning. It was received in
Montpelier the following day at 8 a.m. with an official
ceremony at 10 ``with Gov. Gibson and other officials
participating.''
When Earl Newton unpacked the cargo, he compiled a detailed
inventory on a legal pad. His original notes, in a file at
the Vermont Historical Society, are still quite legible. A
casual perusal of the list of gifts Mr. Newton distributed
include 39 dolls, various decorated cloth wallets, stockings,
thank-you cards, pencil drawings, watercolors, ornamental
fans, toy cars, guns, pencil boxes, puppets, doilies,
photographs, and painted ceramic souvenirs.
Antique French currency in the form of bank notes was
included as well as a sampling of Confederate Bank notes from
the U.S. Civil War. A representative sampling of some of the
gifts may be seen at the Vermont Historical Society.
The most interesting item from the Merci Train is the old
railroad car itself that was displayed on temporary rails
behind the Supreme Court building at 111 State St. in
Montpelier. It remained there until 1953, according to
Vermont legislator John Finn, when it was transported to
Redstone, then the headquarters of the Vermont State Police,
to be used for storage.
With no shelter or maintenance, the car began to
deteriorate, and the once brightly painted Provincial crests
began to disappear in the harsh weather. When asked, a stingy
Vermont Legislature would not appropriate $10,000 for a
shelter, and by 1968 the car had been moved to Steamtown, a
Vermont railroad museum in Bellows Falls. Funds promised for
restoration never materialized, and Finn noted it again was
used for ``a storage bin, rotting where it stood.''
But then, Melvin Hilliker of St. Albans came across the old
car at the train museum. Hilliker, a member of the American
Legion, was also a member of a group of Legionnaires who were
dedicated to the history of the ``40 and 8s.'' He enlisted
his cohorts to save Vermont's Merci Car by taking it to St.
Albans for restoration. St. Albans, a famous old railroad
town, seemed to be the perfect destination for the neglected
relic.
Finn and company lobbied members of the Vermont Legislature
for permission to take the car to St. Albans. For Finn, it
was a relatively convenient task, as he had just been elected
to represent St. Albans in the Vermont House.
After much cajoling, Steamtown released the historic
boxcar. At first, moving it seemed an insurmountable problem,
but the Miller Construction Company of Windsor generously
moved it to the St. Albans CVRR roundhouse in June of 1983.
The ``40 and 8'' enthusiasts of St. Albans raised funds to
restore the car, and with the assistance of the Vermont
National Guard, it was moved to St. Albans' Switchyard
Shopping Center for a rededication and display.
The history buffs who witnessed the dedication on June 7,
1984, undoubtedly believed the antique railroad car would
rest at the Switchyard permanently. However, that was not to
be. In just over 10 years time the members of the St. Albans
American Legion realized they did not have the means to
preserve the antique rail car and, in 1995, with the help of
the Vermont Office of Historic Preservation, the old 40 and 8
was moved to the Military History Museum at Camp Johnson in
Colchester. Under the aegis of the Vermont National Guard,
the museum features the Merci Train car as the centerpiece of
its World War One exhibit.
Lovingly restored and displayed, the old car may be boarded
by visitors who can imagine what it must have been like to be
an American doughboy carried to the front with 39 companions,
and then what it looked like in 1949 when it pulled into
Montpelier, laden with gifts from a thankful France.
While Vermonters have the good fortune of being able to
visit their car from the Merci Train, residents of some of
the other New England states are not as lucky.
A 1984 report indicated that the Connecticut car was
destroyed by fire in the 1950s, the whereabouts of the
Massachusetts car was unknown, and Maine's was in disrepair
with most of the painted decorations removed. In 1999 the
Rhode Island car was discovered in a junkyard, but now
resides in The Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket.
In northern New England, New Hampshire (in Manchester) and
Vermont have provided shelter for their 40 and 8s and
preserved their legacy of sacrifice and gratitude. One may
view the car at the Vermont National Guard Library and
Museum, which is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. There is no charge for admission.
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