Publisher Description
During World War II, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte, Nebraska on troop trains, en route to Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen — a place where soldiers could enjoy coffee, music, home-cooked food, magazines, and friendly conversation during a stopover that lasted only a few minutes. It provided homesick military personnel with the encouragement they needed to help them through the difficult times ahead. Every day of the war, the Canteen — staffed and funded entirely by local volunteers from the community of twelve thousand — was open from 5 a.m. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight. By war’s end they provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food to more than six million GIs.
Based on interviews with North Platte residents and the GIs who once passed through, Bob Greene unearths and reveals a classic, lost-in-the-mists-of-time American story of a grateful country honoring its brave and dedicated sons.
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“4.5 stars for this one. The book is a super fast, easy read. It reads like a magazine article. I loved all the stories that were told from both the GI perspective and the citizen’s point of view. The reason it’s not getting 5 stars from me is that between the stories, the author sometimes writes segues that just don’t make sense to the flow of the book. They almost seemed forced. But I still recommend this book…especially if you are like me and love WWII stories!”
—
Mandy (4 out of 5 stars)
