North Platte Canteen: 'It's a fine idea, I think'

One of the most inspiring home front stories of World War II is the North Platte Canteen. People from 125 communities around North Platte, Nebraska came together to fed six million soldiers who passed through their town on troop trains. It was the subject of an excellent book, Once Upon a Town, by Bob Greene.

I recently found a postcard on eBay that was written from the canteen by a Private W.H. Harris to his sister, Caroline Harris, in Tampa, Florida, on July 2, 1942.  In it, he writes: "Dearest Sister: We have just left North Platte, Neb. The ladies there gave us a big basket of cookies, magazines, candy, etc. They do that for all soldiers that come thru. It's a fine idea, I think."

The photo on the card is a San Francisco street scene, which may indicate that Private Harris was traveling east from California.  I've been unable to identify Private Harris from military and census records. Hope he survived the war.

Read more about the North Platte Canteen here