What This Bill Does
This bill authorizes Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal (a high honor recognizing exceptional service) to the people and communities who volunteered or gave food and supplies to the North Platte Canteen during World War II. The medal honors those who served from December 25, 1941, to April 1, 1946, in North Platte, Nebraska.
Who It Affects
The individuals and communities who volunteered or donated items to the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska during World War II. The Secretary of the Treasury. The Lincoln County Historical Museum in North Platte, Nebraska. The United States Mint.
Key Provisions
• The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate (the top leaders of each chamber) must arrange to present a gold medal on behalf of Congress to those who volunteered or donated to the North Platte Canteen (Sec. 3(a)).
• The Secretary of the Treasury must design the gold medal with appropriate symbols, devices, and inscriptions (Sec. 3(b)).
• After the award, the gold medal must go to the Lincoln County Historical Museum in North Platte, Nebraska, where people can see it on display and use it for research (Sec. 3(c)).
• The Secretary of the Treasury may make and sell duplicate bronze copies of the medal at prices that cover the costs of making them (Sec. 4).
• Money from selling duplicate bronze medals must go into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund (a government account for the mint's operations) (Sec. 6(b)).
What Changes
The individuals and communities who supported the North Platte Canteen will receive official Congressional recognition through a gold medal. The Lincoln County Historical Museum will display this medal for the public to see and for researchers to study.
Important Definitions
Numismatic items: coins, medals, and other collectible pieces made of metal.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 954
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the individuals and
communities who volunteered or donated items to the North Platte Can-
teen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II from December
25, 1941, to April 1, 1946.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. BACON, and Mr. FLOOD) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the
individuals and communities who volunteered or donated
items to the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Ne-
braska, during World War II from December 25, 1941,
to April 1, 1946.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Platte Canteen
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Congressional Gold Medal Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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The Congress finds the following:
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(1) Home-front volunteerism was integral to the
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victory of the United States during World War II.
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Numerous exemplars of patriotism emerged through-
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out the Midwest, galvanizing the rural United States
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and the rest of the country supporting the war ef-
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fort.
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(2) The North Platte Canteen in North Platte,
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Nebraska, was one of the largest volunteer efforts of
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World War II.
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(3) Canteen services boosted morale in the
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United States by providing free, wholesome enter-
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tainment to troops traveling across the country. Ap-
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proximately 120 community-based canteens operated
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in the United States during World War II.
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(4) The North Platte Canteen greeted and
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served food to approximately 6,000,000 U.S. troops
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traveling across the United States from December
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25, 1941, to April 1, 1946.
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(5) On December 17, 1941, the residents of
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North Platte, Nebraska, received information that a
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train of Nebraska National Guardsmen would be
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traveling through North Platte en route to the West
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Coast of the United States. Although the train car-
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ried members of the Kansas National Guard, resi-
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dents of the community welcomed the men from
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•HR 954 IH
Kansas with food and other items as an appreciation
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for their service.
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(6) On December 18, 1941, Rae Wilson, of
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North Platte, proposed to her community the idea of
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establishing the North Platte Canteen so that resi-
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dents could greet U.S. troops en route to serving the
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United States in the European Theater or the Pa-
7
cific Theater.
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(7) 55,000 individuals, the majority of whom
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were women, from 125 communities in Nebraska,
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Colorado, and Kansas donated food and volunteered
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at the North Platte Canteen for approximately 5
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years.
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(8) The North Platte Canteen provided hospi-
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tality to as many as 24 troop trains per day. During
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a 1-month period, the Canteen’s volunteers served
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over 40,000 homemade cookies, 30,000 hard-boiled
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eggs, 6,500 doughnuts, 4,000 loaves of bread, 3,000
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pounds of meat, 450 pounds of cheese, 60 quarts of
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peanut butter, 1,350 pounds of coffee, 1,000 quarts
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of cream, 750 dozen rolls, and 600 birthday cakes.
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(9) The North Platte Canteen principally oper-
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ated at the Union Pacific Railroad station in North
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Platte, Nebraska, with volunteers from local commu-
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•HR 954 IH
nities, organizations, churches, schools, and other
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groups, and without Federal assistance.
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(10) $137,000 in cash contributions supported
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the North Platte Canteen’s operations for almost 5
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years. The funds were raised through benefit dances,
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scrap-metal drives, school victory clubs, donation
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cans in local businesses, and from the relatives of
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troops who traveled through the North Platte area.
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(11) In December 1943, the North Platte Can-
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teen was honored by the United States Army with
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the presentation of the Meritorious Wartime Service
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Award by the Secretary of War.
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(12) In 2004, the 108th Congress passed a res-
13
olution recognizing the heroic efforts of those who
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made enormous sacrifices to make the North Platte
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Canteen a success during World War II.
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SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
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(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of
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the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
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pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements
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for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold
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medal of appropriate design to the individuals and commu-
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nities who volunteered or donated items to the North
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Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World
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War II.
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(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the
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presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of
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the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’)
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shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices,
4
and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
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(c) LINCOLN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM.—Fol-
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lowing the award of the gold medal under subsection (a),
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the gold medal shall be given to the Lincoln County His-
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torical Museum in North Platte, Nebraska, where it will
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be available for display as appropriate and available for
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research.
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SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
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The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in
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bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price
14
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor,
15
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
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SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
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(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to
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this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51
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of title 31, United States Code.
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(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections
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5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals
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struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic
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items.
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SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF
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SALE.
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(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is
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authorized to be charged against the United States Mint
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Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
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essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under
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this Act.
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(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the
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sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section
9
4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public
10
Enterprise Fund.
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Æ
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