North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1502 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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
 Canteen 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, Nebraska, during World War II from December
                      25, 1941, to April 1, 1946.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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:
            (1) Home-front volunteerism was integral to the victory of
        the United States during World War II. Numerous exemplars of
        patriotism emerged throughout the Midwest, galvanizing the
        rural United States and the rest of the country supporting the
        war effort.
            (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 entertainment to troops traveling
        across the country. Approximately 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 carried members of the Kansas National Guard, residents
        of the community welcomed the men from 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 residents could greet U.S. troops en
        route to serving the United States in the European Theater or
        the Pacific 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 hospitality 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 operated at the
        Union Pacific Railroad station in North Platte, Nebraska, with
        volunteers from local communities, 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 Canteen 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 resolution
        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 tempore 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
communities who volunteered or donated items to the North Platte
Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II.
    (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.--Following the award of the
gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the
Lincoln County Historical 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.

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 necessary 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.
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