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Summary: A Town Lost in Time?
Review: Bob Greene is a gifted writer who wrote a great book about a remarkable town that did extraordinary things in some of the most trying times in our nation's history. The miracle of the North Platte Canteen is a story about little-known wartime heroics, filled with many first-hand personal accounts and recollections from some of our diminishing remaining national treasures-our WWII veterans. This book should be read by all, especially those not old enough to have experienced WWII America. This book describes and explains Greene's love affair with the North Platte, Nebraska railroad canteen and the people whose lives were positively influenced by what happened there between Christmas Day, 1941 and April 1, 1946. The residents of that small town, and neighboring towns, took it upon themselves to provide food, love, and support to the millions of servicemen riding in the endless, cramped WWII troop transport trains that stopped briefly in North Platte. Greene captured the volunteer canteen workers' incredible spirit of selfless sacrifice, and the everlasting gratitude of the mostly drafted young men who briefly stopped at North Platte on their way to war. Although most stops lasted maybe ten minutes, their memories of their canteen experiences have lasted all their lives. As Greene noted, "He started to cry softly in mid-sentence. I would have attributed it to the stress of being about to go into surgery, except that it was happening regularly when I spoke with the men who had come through North Platte on the trains. The volunteers from the canteen, while emotional, usually remained composed. But the soldiers they had welcomed...as often as not, they would weep at some point during our conversations as they recalled the experience." The memory of any place that brings tears to the eyes of men who have seen and experienced combat is a very special memory of a very special place. The story of the North Platte Canteen is a story of a long ago and largely forgotten America when times were slower and people seemed more morally balanced and values-centered. However, according to a January 31, 2003 "Washington Times" article, the staff at a North Platte motel revived the canteen tradition by providing a friendly dinner "with a bit of hospitality for dessert" for over 500 North Dakota National Guard troops who stopped there after a long day on the road on their way to the Persian Gulf in preparation for war with Iraq. Read this book and learn all about this very special tradition.
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