Washington, D.C. – Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the individuals and communities who volunteered or donated food and other items to the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, NE during World War II.

One of the largest volunteer efforts of WWII, historical documents show 38 counties in Nebraska, two in Colorado, and 55,000 volunteers contributed to the Canteen’s service to more than 6 million U.S. servicemembers traveling across the country by rail between Christmas Day, 1941 to April 1, 1946.