Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Rank: 71036

During WWII, people in North Platte and neighboring towns in Nebraska and Colorado took it upon themselves to show their appreciation to the soldiers on troop trains that passed through town, sometimes more than thirty a day. The locals never missed a day throughout the war. They baked cakes, fried chickens, made sandwiches, and poured glasses of milk.

Young ladies danced with the soldiers. High school girls' names and addresses were placed in popcorn balls for the soldiers to find, so the soldiers could write to them.

Despite the fact that the train stops were no more than twenty minutes, soldiers who were located over fifty years later and interviewed, seventy and eighty year old men, often were reduced to tears remembering the kindness with which they were treated by the people at the North Platte Canteen.

Many of the soldiers, eighteen or nineteen years old, were away from home for the first time.

They faced uncertain futures, with little life experience on which to draw. From my Vietnam era experience, I know that they were afraid and that the thought of what lay ahead of them seldom left their consciousness.

This book has some of the feel of "The Greatest Generation".

It is hard to remember the American society of those days, how little people had and how little they expected.

It is good to be reminded of a time when people did something for someone else because they thought it was the right thing to do. The people who worked at the canteen knew that many of the soldiers they met would never return home, and these people were determined to do something for them.

When the canteen closed at war's end, the administrative committee declined to spend any of the funds that had been collected, for a memorial to the canteen.

A memorial was fine they thought, but not with money that had been raised for the soldiers. The remaining balance was donated to VA hospitals that were taking care of wounded veterans.

Author Bob Green, who visited North Platte to examine local records and to interview, writes that the old railroad depot that was used as the canteen was torn down some years ago. All that remains of the canteen, that became famous among servicemen during the war, are old city records, newspaper clippings from a defunct newspaper, the memories of the folks who worked there, and those of the surviving servicemen who visited.

If there is a message in this book, it is, perhaps, that, through the canteen worker's efforts for the soldiers, these good people found their finest hour.

Customer Reviews

7.	Pride from an area native
	(Oakland Hills, CA) July 5, 2002 - 5.0/5 stars
	I have to say I probably would not have picked this book had my grandmother not been one of the featured interviews. I am, however, very happy that I read the book. I am extremely proud, not only of her, but of... read full review
Current Review
8.	Twenty Minutes in North Platte
	(Austin, TX United States) August 9, 2002 - 5.0/5 stars
	Once Upon a Town, the Miracle of the North Platte CanteenBob GreeneISBN 0-06-008196-1During WWII, people in North Platte and neighboring towns in Nebraska and Colorado took it upon themselves to show their appreciation... read full review
9.	The Spirit of Nebraska...
	(Ironwood, MI) August 5, 2002 - 5.0/5 stars
	I lived in Holbrook, Nebraska from 1963 - 1973 and had never heard of the Canteen in North Platte. Also being a WW II buff, this book ingtrigued me. Reading through it I could visualize all of the small towns... read full review

Editorials

	Kirkus Reviews
	"This pleasantly modest and meaningful account of life on the homefront deserves the widest audience."
	Aaron Brown, from NewsNight with Aaron Brown, CNN
	…the quintessential American story…--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
	Rocky Mountain News
	This is a great story of love, country and uncalled-for service in a time of national crisis.

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