I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1502 
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 21, 2025 
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-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Platte Canteen 
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Home-front volunteerism was integral to the 
victory of the United States during World War II. 
Numerous exemplars of patriotism emerged through-
out the Midwest, galvanizing the rural United States 
and the rest of the country supporting the war ef-
fort. 
(2) The North Platte Canteen in North Platte, 
Nebraska, was one of the largest volunteer efforts of 
World War II. 
(3) Canteen services boosted morale in the 
United States by providing free, wholesome enter-
tainment to troops traveling across the country. Ap-
proximately 120 community-based canteens operated 
in the United States during World War II. 
(4) The North Platte Canteen greeted and 
served food to approximately 6,000,000 U.S. troops 
traveling across the United States from December 
25, 1941, to April 1, 1946. 
(5) On December 17, 1941, the residents of 
North Platte, Nebraska, received information that a 
train of Nebraska National Guardsmen would be 
traveling through North Platte en route to the West 
Coast of the United States. Although the train car-
ried members of the Kansas National Guard, resi-
dents of the community welcomed the men from 
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Kansas with food and other items as an appreciation 
for their service. 
(6) On December 18, 1941, Rae Wilson, of 
North Platte, proposed to her community the idea of 
establishing the North Platte Canteen so that resi-
dents could greet U.S. troops en route to serving the 
United States in the European Theater or the Pa-
cific Theater. 
(7) 55,000 individuals, the majority of whom 
were women, from 125 communities in Nebraska, 
Colorado, and Kansas donated food and volunteered 
at the North Platte Canteen for approximately 5 
years. 
(8) The North Platte Canteen provided hospi-
tality to as many as 24 troop trains per day. During 
a 1-month period, the Canteen’s volunteers served 
over 40,000 homemade cookies, 30,000 hard-boiled 
eggs, 6,500 doughnuts, 4,000 loaves of bread, 3,000 
pounds of meat, 450 pounds of cheese, 60 quarts of 
peanut butter, 1,350 pounds of coffee, 1,000 quarts 
of cream, 750 dozen rolls, and 600 birthday cakes. 
(9) The North Platte Canteen principally oper-
ated at the Union Pacific Railroad station in North 
Platte, Nebraska, with volunteers from local commu-
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nities, organizations, churches, schools, and other 
groups, and without Federal assistance. 
(10) $137,000 in cash contributions supported 
the North Platte Canteen’s operations for almost 5 
years. The funds were raised through benefit dances, 
scrap-metal drives, school victory clubs, donation 
cans in local businesses, and from the relatives of 
troops who traveled through the North Platte area. 
(11) In December 1943, the North Platte Can-
teen was honored by the United States Army with 
the presentation of the Meritorious Wartime Service 
Award by the Secretary of War. 
(12) In 2004, the 108th Congress passed a res-
olution recognizing the heroic efforts of those who 
made enormous sacrifices to make the North Platte 
Canteen a success during World War II. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design to the individuals and commu-
nities who volunteered or donated items to the North 
Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World 
War II. 
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(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 
the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 
and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary. 
(c) LINCOLN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM.—Fol-
lowing the award of the gold medal under subsection (a), 
the gold medal shall be given to the Lincoln County His-
torical Museum in North Platte, Nebraska, where it will 
be available for display as appropriate and available for 
research. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to 
this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 
of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 
items. 
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SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 
this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 
Enterprise Fund. 
Æ 
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