[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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