By Allison Peck
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer took to the Senate floor this month to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Platte Canteen and push for federal recognition of the volunteers who supported millions of service members during World War II.
“Earlier this month — on April 1, 2026 — we marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the North Platte Canteen,” Fischer said. “Nebraskans know this story. Today, I rise to make sure the United States Senate knows it too.”
Fischer described how a small act of kindness in 1941 — when local women began bringing desserts to soldiers at the North Platte train station — grew into a massive volunteer operation. From Christmas Day 1941 through April 1946, volunteers met every troop train that passed through the city.
“Each day, up to 32 trains rolled in, carrying thousands of uniformed service members,” she said.
At its peak, the canteen received tens of thousands of donated food items in a single month, including cookies, eggs, cakes, and sandwich supplies. Over the course of the war, more than six million service members passed through North Platte.
“They gave our soldiers a small but meaningful taste of home and of hope,” Fischer said, later adding, “I like to call it the origin of the saying: ‘Nebraska Nice.’”
Fischer also pointed to letters preserved at the Lincoln County Historical Museum, where soldiers described the stop as a rare moment of kindness during long journeys to war.
She noted more than 55,000 volunteers — most of them women — helped operate the canteen and raised the equivalent of more than $2 million in today’s dollars. Fischer also shared that her mother, Florence Strobel, was among those volunteers.
Fischer used the speech to advocate for passage of the North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act, which would award a collective Congressional Gold Medal to those who supported the effort.
“This is the highest honor Congress can bestow upon civilians,” she said. “I am proud to have 53 cosponsors, and I ask my colleagues to join us as we work toward the 67 needed for passage.”
Fischer closed by urging support for the bill.
“M. President, I ask my colleagues to help us give these volunteers the place in American history they have long deserved.”