Oregon Merci Train

Some monuments draw their meaning from a specific location, while other objects reach across continents with their message of remembrance. The Oregon Merci Train is an example of a memorial whose remembrance spans across the ocean and connects France and America.

On February 3, 1949 the French freighter Magellan arrived in New York harbor with forty-nine boxcars used in the First and Second World Wars. The boxcars were filled with individual gifts to the American people in appreciation for humanitarian aid that helped bridge the agricultural devastation brought on by the European drought of 1947 as noted by Scheele in the Pennsylvania Heritage. According to Ellison, the gesture underscored an important historic "hands across the sea" relationship centering on a strategic alliance of shared interests free of government affiliations and linking multiple generations. Koppy believes that these railcars provide a personal reminder of how the United States came to France’s aid on two separate occasions in the twentieth century to celebrate a shared sense of humanity that the war could not extinguish.

The timeline of events that led to the Merci Trains arriving in the United States began with a severe European drought of 1947, further compounding the difficulties of assuming a normal life after the war. The situation was made known to Americans through several avenues including a visit by the Conference of Mayors President George Welsh and by syndicated columnist Drew Pearson expressing concerns in his Washington Merry-Go-Round column which asked Americans to send humanitarian aid to the weakened western democracies in Europe as documented by Scheele.

As a result, a grassroots efforts turned into competition between states as to who could donate the most. "Friendship Train" boxcars filled with food, clothing and medical supplies began leaving Los Angeles on November 7th, 1947, just five weeks after the idea was announced. Two-hundred and seventy boxcars filled with food, clothing, fuel and medicine arrived in New York on November 18th for the transatlantic trip to France. This action was independent of the multi-billion-dollar Marshall Plan that was being discussed in Congress. The boxcar idea was initiated by the American people outside of government intervention and lacked the strong political Cold War connotations of the Marshall Plan, according to Scheele in the California Territorial Quarterly.

The French-American relationship dates back to the seventeenth century with France assisting in America’s revolutionary war against England and was reinforced in the twentieth century through two world wars. After World War II (WWII) , French women cared for the American cemeteries in such a manner that mothers overseas expressed their gratitude. As documented by Lemay, one American gold star mother wrote that, "we feel now that France is not far away and that a hand of love and compassion has been stretched [sic] across the sea." The humanitarian supplies were gladly accepted by the French with the French consulate in the city of Chicago saying it best as documented by Van Poll, "This [Friendship] train meant so much, particularly for the children of France some of whom for the first time in their lives were able to taste cake and chocolate and have a little bit of extra sugar."

Andre Picard, a former French railway worker, wanted to reciprocate this goodwill gesture of the "Friendship Trains" and collected forty-eight boxcars built between 1872-1885 with the help of others. Mitchell notes that Picard expressed the feelings of many when he opined, "we found ourselves unable to reply in the same manner as you aided us," […] and we wanted "… to send you remembrances which would last forever." Drew Pearson, as documented by Tyler Abell, wrote that Americans were honored to receive the gifts: "People [Americans] everywhere seemed to appreciate this reciprocal gesture from the French." The French gifts, as detailed by Doss, included handwritten notes expressing gratitude, a feeling that Adam Smith believes plays an influential role in "the operation of stable modern and moral societies." The Oregon Merci boxcar holds a sampling of these gifts including commemorative plates, paintings, military medal, and a stuffed animal with a note tied to its neck, "For Your Baby." A gift of this nature to be given away at a time when France was suffering through visible devastation demonstrates why the Merci Trains are an important cultural asset that underscores the strength of the French-American relationship bond that the war could not break.

It is unfortunate that the Merci Boxcars have not received proper recognition in the memory of most Americans. Steven Grief feels that the boxcars were most logical method of transporting goods and were in keeping with the American "Friendship Train" motif. While what the Merci boxcars represent has not changed over time, other images of WWII have been etched in our collective memories. Justin Lambrecht notes that one of the most prominent images is the boxcar being used to transport Jewish people east to Nazi extermination centers. This may represent a reason why the Merci boxcar’s image has been suppressed. One could imagine the possibility that perhaps one of the boxcars could have been pressed into service by the Vichy French for such a grisly duty; Young notes that to make such a claim would require extensive research of how the boxcars were used by occupied France. Logically it would seem more likely these boxcars performed a multitude of duties in Nazi occupied Europe. It is a comforting "sanitizing remembrance" to think of the boxcars as uncoupled from the Third Reich’s legacy and were simply transportation that moved men and horses from one destination to another according to Greif in Waterways.

Living in Oregon near the mouth of the Columbia River, our community had two significant war memorials, the First World War Doughboy Monument and the Second World War’s Merci Train. The boxcar arrived at the capital in Salem on February 26, 1949 and was moved three times over the years to its current location in the city of North Bend under the administrative care of Coos History Museum where it received a refurbishment shortly after arrival and is now sheltered from the weather as documented by Greif in Waterways. Research into both memorials helped me realize that the memorials represent a significant experience in many lives and connects the two world wars. While not an often-recognized aspect of WWII, the Merci Train is a part of the historical legacy in nearly all of the states of the union, and as noted by Luce, was regarded by New York’s Mayor William O ’Dwyer as "the most heart-warming event in recent international history."

(Edited by Brad Poss & Laura Bailey)

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