Nearly eight decades after arriving from France, South Carolina's refurbished Gratitude Train boxcar is the centerpiece of a downtown plaza in Bishopville.
Photo by Jeff Wilkinson
Shortly after World War II, France wanted to thank the United States for liberating the country from Nazi rule and helping it to recover from the war.
The French collected 52,000 donations–from artworks to toys–from regular folks across the country, packed them in 49 boxcars and sent the "Merci" Train to America. ("Merci" is French for "thank you.") The boxcars were destined for each state at the time, with another to be shared by the territory of Hawaii and the District of Columbia.
Today, South Carolina's carriage sits on Main Street in Bishopville, refurbished and the centerpiece of an inviting plaza. It is central to the town's efforts to revitalize its downtown.
"We rescued it," says Eddie Grant, executive director of the South Carolina Cotton Museum/Lee County Veterans Museum, which maintains the boxcar today.
A reciprocal gift
The story of the Gratitude Train, as it is officially known, actually begins in Los Angeles.
France was devastated during World War II. So in 1947, two years after the war ended, a group of Angelenos filled eight boxcars with donated food, clothing and other much-needed supplies to help with the French relief efforts. Word of the charity drive spread through the press, and donations began flowing in from across the nation.
By the time the L.A. train reached New York, it had swelled to multiple trains hauling 700 boxcars carrying $40 million of donated supplies–worth more than $600 million in today's money.
The Gratitude Train from France would follow as a reciprocal gesture of thanks.
'40 and eights'
Six million French citizens and organizations donated gifts great and small to say "thank you" for the Americans' aid. Among them were heartfelt postcards, children's drawings, 50 rare paintings, a Louis XV carriage, a jeweled medal once presented to Napoleon and silk wedding dresses produced by the city of Lyon.
In all, 52,000 gifts were chosen for the Merci Train. They arrived in New York to much fanfare. Some of the cars were paraded up Broadway, with hundreds of thousands of spectators looking on.
The boxcars themselves had special significance. The narrow gauge freight cars were used extensively in Europe in World Wars I and II. They were called "40 and eights" because they could carry 40 people or eight horses. The boxcars were used by all sides in the conflicts to transport troops, haul supplies, evacuate wounded soldiers and, in their darkest use, transport Jews and other victims of the Holocaust in World War II to concentration camps.
Millions of Americans who had fought in the world wars had personal recollections of the ubiquitous boxcars.
History lost
The gift boxcars, decorated with crests from regions of France, were dispersed to the states and displayed in memorial parks, museums and other public spaces across the nation. The American Legion was tapped to oversee their distribution.
Some of the boxcars and gifts were lovingly preserved by their states. Others were lost altogether. South Carolina's boxcar found a home at American Legion Post 3 in Greenville, where it remained until the 1980s, when it was moved to Columbia. A deal to donate it to the South Carolina State Museum fell through, however, and it remained unceremoniously parked in a lot behind Columbia's American Legion Post 6, largely unseen by the public. Over the decades, it was eventually forgotten.
The gifts were given out to various individuals and organizations. But, nearly 80 years later, it's unclear where many of them ended up.
In 2017, the Legion advertised for the boxcar to be relocated to a site where it would be more accessible to the public and better appreciated.
Enter Bishopville.
A community effort
Bishopville was home to Medal of Honor recipient Army Cpl. James Heriot, who was killed in action just 30 days before the end of World War I. The boxcar would be a fitting tribute to him and others who served from South Carolina and Lee County, officials thought.
The boxcar was hauled to the small town and refurbished with donated materials, transport and labor. It is displayed in a brick-lined pocket park on Main Street. A bronze statue of Heriot, who likely rode in a "40 and eight," sits next to the boxcar.
The newest addition to the park is a plaque and relief of Maj. James Capers, a Vietnam War hero from Bishopville. The retired Marine is one of the nation's newest Medal of Honor recipients, receiving the honor in June from President Donald Trump. He was welcomed back to his hometown with a parade this summer.
Grant, director of the veterans and cotton museum, says the small town pulled together to move and renovate the boxcar, establish the park and honor its veterans.
"We just all pitched in," he says.
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