During World War II, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte, Nebraska, on troop trains, en route to Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen, a place where soldiers could enjoy coffee, music, home-cooked food, magazines, and friendly conversation during a stopover that lasted only a few minutes. It provided homesick military personnel with the encouragement they needed to help them through the difficult times ahead. Every day of the war, the Canteen, staffed and funded entirely by local volunteers from the community of 12,000, was open from 5 a.m. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight. By war's end it provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food to more than six million GIs. Based on interviews with North Platte residents and the GIs who once passed through, Bob Greene unearths and reveals a classic, lost-in-the-mists-of-time American story of a grateful country honoring its brave and dedicated sons.
"Greene's skill makes this homage not just a time capsule but a work that will strike a resonating chord in those seeking to remember the generosity and selflessness of many when faced with adversity and peril." (Publisher's Weekly)
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How a small town helped win the war
It is a wonderful story.
I love the concept of how this town turned a mistake into an event that touched the souls of so many of the men going off into an uncertain future
- danny lawrence
Long Tale of a Truly Inspiring Short Tale