Dear Editor:December 7, 1941: War begins.On December 24, 1941 a small town of 12,000 people in Nebraska was preparing to feed a home-cooked meal to the troops from Nebraska coming through their North Platte train station, which was transformed into a canteen. When the train came in, the troops were from out of state, but they fed and gave the homesick troops magazines anyway. North Platte was to become a major train stop for troops going to the east coast from the west coast to go to Europe and the Pacific.The stop was only for ten minutes. The good people of North Platte made that ten minutes count with their hospitality.From that day on, every day of the year, every day of the war, and into April, 1946 the troops received home-cooked meals and magazines, which were funded entirely by the people of North Platte. There were anywhere from 13 to 20 trains a day that came through the town. From 5:30 in the morning to after 12 midnight, the trains stopped at the station. They fed over six million troops!Summer, 2018: After a three week training exercise in Wyoming, the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade of Arkansas, under the command of Lt. Col. Nick Jaskolski, was going back to Arkansas through North Platte. The Army had budgeted for a stop to get snacks. The bus company called the visitors’ bureau and asked if there were anywhere in town that could handle a succession of 21 buses, and get 700 soldiers a quick snack? The troops expected a fast food place. Instead, the troops were directed to North Platte’s events center, which had opened and decorated especially for them.As each bus arrived, over two days the soldiers stepped out and were greeted by lines of cheering people holding signs of thanks. There were hundreds of volunteers to feed the troops. The soldiers entered the center to the aroma of steaks grilling and the sound of recorded music. The town mayor, Dwight Livingston, a Vietnam veteran, was there to shake the hand of every soldier over the two-day period.When it became time to settle up the bill – the Army, after all, had budgeted for the snacks – Col. Jaskolski was told nothing – “you are not spending a penny here. This is North Platte.”This is patriotism at its best – pass the story along! Read more about it in North Platte ...
