A Nebraska Town Played Host to 6 Million GIs During WWII

The North Platte residents were wonder workers of a railroad town, bringing comfort and cheer to young men on their way to war. It started on Christmas night.

The North Platte, Nebraska. canteen, where the women of the area volunteered their time to prepare food for passing servicemen during World War II. Photograph Courtesy of the Lincoln County Historical Museum, North Platte, Nebraska

Our story begins with a case of mistaken identity.

Just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Rae Wilson, age 26 and a store clerk, heard that her brother’s National Guard Company D was due to pass through town on Dec. 17. She spread the word around North Platte, Nebraska, population 12,000, and was stunned when hundreds of people bearing gifts and food for the troops showed up at the train station. They waited eagerly for the arrival of Nebraska’s Company D, only to discover, when the train arrived, that the troops aboard were Company D but of the Kansas National Guard.