During World War II, forty of Troy's teenage girls, their mothers, and volunteers operated a free canteen service for troops on the platform of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station. The group began as a few neighborhood girls providing magazines to soldiers while trains were stopped. With support and donations from Miami County communities and six additional counties, thousands of food baskets and countless drinks were given to approximately 600,000 soldiers trackside. Books, games, cigarettes, and other sundries were made available to soldiers on their trips to and from Europe or the Pacific. The volunteers of the Junior Girls Canteen served every train and soldier that came through the station, whether it was in the dead of night or the coldest day of winter. Throughout World War II, many other canteens were created across the nation, including eleven other canteens in Ohio.
(Lower Plaque):
Canteen Girls
Mary Jane Attenweiler
Margaret Attenweiler
Eileen Burgin
Marilyn Chase
Nancy Chronaberry
Thelma Dohm
Patty Fox
Katherine Hartzell
Alice Hobbs
Jeannine Kendall
Kathleen Kendall
Patty Kirkland
Doris McMath
Lois McWilliams
Phyllis McWilliams
Mary Lee Mumford
Jackie Ovenshire
Eleanor Priest
Marlene Pour
Patricia Pour
Nanette Rudisill
Rosemary Rudisill
Mary Margaret Rush
Mary Lou Scott
Phyllis Shane
Charlene Strome
Hazel Sturgeon
Betty Tooley
Helen Turner
Patricia Wray
MASCOT Mickey Attenweiler
Donated by the American Legion Post 43, VFW Post 5436 and AM VETS Post 88
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