North Platte, Nebraska
Iron Horse Park
221 East 5th St.
GPS coordinates: 41.10813,-100.76292
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On the east side of the 20th Century Veterans Memorial is the statue depicting Rae Wilson Sleight, the driving force behind the creation and delivery of the canteen services and comfort to the more than 6,000,000 men and women headed for combat or headed home. The North Platte Canteen greeted every troop train from December 25, 1941 to April 1, 1946, with smiles, coffee, cigarettes and sandwiches, during the troops’ 13-minute stop here.

Start of the canteen
The history of the canteen can be traced back to December 17, 1941. Just ten days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, men of the 134th Infantry Regiment of the Nebraska Army National Guard were on their way from Camp Joseph T. Robinson near Little Rock, Arkansas to an unknown destination. Rumor had it that the train would arrive at 11, but by noon it hadn't shown up. After another false alarm, the train finally rolled in around 4:30. By this time, at least five hundred relatives and friends of local servicemen showed up at the depot. They brought baskets of fruit, cartons of cigarettes, Christmas gifts and fruit cakes.

The train arrived and the crowd cheered, but the soldiers weren't members of the 134th. The crowd gave the soldiers the gifts and food that was originally meant for their own sons and wished them off.

The reason the trains were stopping in North Platte was because the town was a designated tender point for steam trains. Stopping the train allowed for the train crews to relubricate the wheels, top off the water levels in the tanks, and other maintenance of the locomotive. This practice continued until the Union Pacific Railroad switched to diesel locomotives.

Of the group of people that were originally at the depot on the seventeenth, twenty-six-year-old Rae Wilson, a drugstore sales girl, witnessed the hospitality. Her brother was to be on the troop train as a company commander. As she walked away from the train that evening, she had an idea to meet all the trains that went through North Platte and give the soldiers the same type of sendoff. The next day she suggested that the meeting of soldiers become a permanent occurrence and wrote a letter to the local newspaper:

Editor, The Daily Bulletin:
I don't know just how many people went to meet the trains when the troops went thru our city Wednesday, but those who didn't should have.

To see the spirits and the high morale among those soldiers should certainly put some of us on our feet and make us realize we are really at war. We should help keep this soldiers morale at its highest peak. We can do our part.

During World War I the army and navy mothers, or should I say the war mothers, had canteens at our own depot. Why can't we, the people of North Platte and other towns surrounding our community, start a fund and open a Canteen now? I would be more than willing to give my time without charge and run this canteen.

We who met this troop train which arrived about 5 o'clock were expecting Nebraska boys. Naturally we had candy, cigarettes, etc., but we very willingly gave these things to the Kansas boys.

Smiles, tears and laughter followed. Appreciation showed on over 300 faces. An officer told me it was the first time anyone had met their train and that North Platte had helped the boys keep up their spirits.

I say give back of our sons and other mothers' sons 100 per cent. Let's do something and do it in a hurry! We can help this way when we can't help any other way.
-Rae Wilson

And so it began....

Also in the area: North Platte has many attractions including Buffalo Bill State Historical Park, the Union Pacific Railroad's Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center, and Cody Park Railroad Museum.

At the County Courthouse in North Platte, is a replica of the Statue of Liberty as well as a statue of an Indian that originally stood on the top of Sioux Lookout in the canyons east of North Platte.

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*If motorcycle, rally flag and above image can't be in the same photo, submit two photos: one with rally flag and above image, and another with rally flag and motorcycle nearby. If the site is CLOSED or inaccessible, submit a photo with rally flag and motorcycle nearby, along with an explanation.

Tour of Honor-Nebraska is sponsored by Rick Harvey.