The Gratitude Train: France thanks America

Jun 23, 2025

June Cutchins shares her heartfelt memories of the Gratitude Train, a remarkable gift from France to America in 1949. As a child in Florida, she recounts the excitement of receiving unique treasures from the train, including precious artwork and handmade gifts. The train symbolizes the deep appreciation of the French for American aid after World War II. Cutchins' personal stories illuminate the emotional connections forged through acts of kindness during challenging times, making history feel vivid and relatable.

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ANECDOTE

Friendship Train Aids Europe

Post-WWII Europe faced dire conditions with frozen transport and widespread starvation.
Drew Pearson's 1947 US appeal led to the Friendship Train sending 700 loaded boxcars west to east.

INSIGHT

Gifts Show Deep Gratitude

The French Gratitude Train mirrored the Friendship Train's spirit through gifts of thanks.
The 52,000 gifts symbolized the heartfelt appreciation France felt toward America.

ANECDOTE

Florida Boxcar and Wedding Dresses

The Florida boxcar arrival captivated young June, filled with French provincial shields and historic railroad cars.
Gifts included Napoleonic swords and wedding dresses, with some states finding brides to wear them.

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In 1949, the Gratitude Train arrived in the United States, made up of 49 wagons filled with thousands of gifts from France.

The convoy was a thank-you to American families who’d sent food and supplies across the Atlantic, via a ‘friendship train’ in the aftermath of World War Two.

It was the idea of a French railworker called Andre Picard. In the same spirit as the friendship train, he asked families across France to make donations.

The response was 52,000 gifts that filled 49 rail wagons or ‘boxcars’, one for each US state, and to be distributed to American families. Some donations were valuable; a carriage used by King Louis XV. Others were handmade; a knitted scarf or a child’s painting.

June Cutchins tells Jane Wilkinson about the treasure her family received from the Florida boxcar.

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(Photo: Gratitude train boxcar unloaded in New York, 1949. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)