Thursday, May 19, 2011

WWII Canteen, North Platte, Nebraska



The North Platte, Nebraska Canteen was located in the Union Pacific Railroad Station. It began December 25, 1941 just a couple weeks after Pearl Harbor, and continued until April 1, 1946. During this time more than six million service men and women were provided with food, cigarettes, magazines, and a boost in morale when their troop train stopped at North Platte. North Platte was a designated servicing point for Union Pacific steam locomotives hauling passenger trains. A service stop usually took about ten minutes, allowing time for a hurried visit to the canteen.

The North Platte canteen was staffed by townspeople and volunteers from neighboring towns. A total of 55,000 volunteers from almost 125 communities in western Nebraska, northeastern Colorado, and northwestern Kansas participated at one time or another. They served a daily average of 3,000 to 5,000 military personnel.




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14 comments:

  1. The video is very interesting and shows what can be done by volunteers/ I smiled when I saw a carriage with 'Tourist' on the side.

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  2. What a stressful job that must have been for the few minutes the train was in.

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  3. A service stop took 10 minutes? i bet the guys at the back of the queue had a frustrating service stop then. Great postcard.

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  4. wjile i find war appaling, to put a face on the war effort is comforting. this was the last homey feeling these guys got before ending up on the battlefield. kudos for the volunteers. a kind gesture always has unknown repercussion on so many lives.

    thanx 4 sharing!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  5. A very moving video. That is a whole lot of baking

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  6. Doesn't the word canteen conjure up odd images, complete with smells?!

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  7. thanks for sharing a grat postcard.

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  8. How interesting! I posted about the very same canteen in 2008. You can see a picture of the inside of the building here: http://muse-swings.blogspot.com/2010/04/postcard-friendship-friday-got-milk.html

    10 minutes! No wonder the soldiers are running in the photo! Great post!

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  9. Team playing always works! Great post and the word CANTEEN is forever in my thoughts!

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  10. It's a shame such places as the canteens are gone, but troops these days are flown to and from bases. One minute in the US, the next day in a war zone. No transition period. No little town waiting to say "job well done" and "we care."

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  11. I read the book about this. A fascinating story! What a wonderful thing they did. It sure warms your heart to see people come together like this.
    Thanks for your comment on my post. No, my names not on the record cover.
    I guess I'll never be famous.
    Barbara

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