Photo By Scott Sturkol | Veterans Memorial Plaza is backlit by the morning light Nov. 1, 2019, at the...... read more read more
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On a day in late June 1995, the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area formally was dedicated as a World War II Commemorative Area. In the 25-plus years since, the area has grown considerably.
Toda, the area serves to commemorate not only the installation’s involvement in World War II, but the entirety of Fort McCoy’s 100-plus years of history.
The work to establish the Commemorative Area began in 1992 during the 50th anniversary of World War II, said former Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer Linda Fournier, who was responsible for the Commemorative Area from its inception to October 2015.
Camp McCoy, like many other military reservations, grew significantly during the World War II era. Because of this expansion and the construction of the cantonment area, much of what Fort McCoy looks like today is the result of changes that occurred during that war.
“At the time of the 50th anniversary of World War II, Fort McCoy, like many installations of that era, was in the process of demolishing or significantly renovating its World War II-era wood structures,” said Fournier in September 2015. “We felt it was important to our heritage to retain for the future a few of these buildings as the work to modernization and upgrade the cantonment area increased.
“It was deemed appropriate by the command group that it was significantly important to retain a few of these structures as a representation of our past,” Fournier said. “At the time, Fort McCoy had one of the largest remaining inventories of World War II-era facilities anywhere, and DOD (Department of Defense) was supportive of Fort McCoy’s efforts to set aside a collection of such structures as part of our World War II commemoration. Fort McCoy was one of the first installations to do so.”
Between 1992 and 1995, five adjoining World War II troop buildings — three barracks, a “mess hall” facility, and an administrative building — in the 900 block of the cantonment area permanently were set aside for commemoration purposes.
Since then, this area has grown into a 10-acre site that now includes an Equipment Park, Veterans Memorial Plaza, and the History Center. With the expansion, the site was re-designated as the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area since it serves to tell the entire history of Fort McCoy from its founding in 1909 to the present day, Fournier said.
The adjacent Equipment Park also was established in the mid-1990s to complement the Commemorative Area buildings. What began as an initial outdoor display of five pieces of equipment (“macro-artifacts”) also has increased over time to what is today a display of 70 different end items.
“All of the items on display in the Equipment Park specifically were selected in keeping with our Commemorative Area mission statement: to present pieces of military equipment that are representative of what was used here on Fort McCoy,” Fournier said.
Fournier noted that the most-recent acquisitions were added in 2014, and the site now has the capability to accommodate up to an additional 50 display items.
The Fort McCoy History Center, the next component added to the Commemorative Area, opened in 1999, during the installation’s 90th anniversary. The center features exhibits and displays of artifacts, photographs and period memorabilia. The History Center serves to tell the story of Fort McCoy based on the military personnel who trained here and the civilian workforce who supported the service personnel who passed through the installation.
The final piece of the Commemorative Area was to build Fort McCoy Veterans Memorial Plaza to honor all who have served. Construction on this memorial began in 2006, as did the work to create five Soldier statues representative of each of the major conflicts that Fort McCoy had been involved with to that point in time: i.e., World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the war on terrorism.
The formal dedication of Veterans Memorial Plaza was June 13, 2009, the date of Fort McCoy’s 100th anniversary. Several descendants of the installation’s founder, Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy, attended this dedication, Fournier said. The dedication was the key event in a series of activities held during Fort McCoy’s yearlong centennial observance.
“Everyone involved with the day-to-day operation of the Commemorative Area works hard to ensure the site is maintained in a condition reflective of how any memorial site should be kept,” Fournier said.
The Commemorative Area is one of the most-visited places within the entire cantonment area, Fournier noted, especially by military personnel here for training.
“The visual image we strive to project to every visitor is one of professionalism and an appreciation for the sacrifice of those who have served our nation,” Fournier said. “Our commitment is to maintain the Commemorative Area in a manner that clearly conveys the impression that the staff here is truly proud of our heritage.”
After Fournier retired in 2015, Public Affairs Specialist Theresa Fitzgerald took over managing the care of the area and supporting events there and said it’s a popular visitor attraction.
Fitzgerald said from 2015 through 2019, there were 236 tours with 8,153 visitors to the Commemorative Area. “And that’s not counting the tens of thousands of visitors we had there during our annual Armed Forces Day Open House there in those years,” she said.
“The Commemorative Area is a source of pride for Fort McCoy,” Fitzgerald said. “We get many comments from visitors that the area truly reflects the past and present of Fort McCoy.”
The annual Armed Forces Day Open House event is held in the 900 block adjacent to the Commemorative Area every year, Fitzgerald said. “
“It is the perfect location for the open house,” Fitzgerald said. “During that event, guests can leisurely walk through all the buildings, the Equipment Park, and Veterans Memorial Plaza. If the sun is shining more people tend to get outdoors, since open house is a free event it draws the crowds. On average 2,000 to 5,000-plus guests attend open house.”
Fitzgerald, who retires at the end of November, said her five years managing the area was wonderful.
“I love giving tours of Fort McCoy’s Commemorative Area,” said Fitzgerald who is also a retired Army master sergeant. “The guests who come to visit are always impressed with the number of buildings, the displays, and the layout. I especially love when veterans and their family members visit. They always have memories to share of their time on post. It always helped me to better tell Fort McCoy’s story to other visitors.”
And now with Fitzgerald retiring, a new era of Commemorative Area involvement begins with Public Affairs Specialist Kaleen Holliday, who started working at the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office in September.
“It is with great pride and pleasure that I approach this opportunity to continue the care and preservation of Fort McCoy’s history at the Commemorative Area,” said Holliday, who has also worked with the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation and the Directorate of Emergency Services at Fort McCoy. “I am very fortunate to have had time to work with Ms. Fitzgerald before her retirement. She has a great wealth of knowledge and passion for the Commemorative Area.”
Former Fort McCoy Deputy to the Garrison Commander Albert R. Fournier served at Fort McCoy for 44 years and was a key player in the establishment of the area. In September 2015, he said the Commemorative Area is a very special place of honor.
“Fort McCoy has a very unique and distinguished history of service to our nation,” he said. “The Commemorative Area was established to preserve that legacy for future generations.”
For more information about the Commemorative Area, contact the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office at 608-388-2407, by email at usarmy.mccoy.imcom-central.list.pao-admin@mail.mil, or go online to see the Commemorative Area section in the Fort McCoy Guide at https://home.army.mil/mccoy/index.php/my-fort/all-services/fort-mccoy-guide.
| Date Taken: | 11.06.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.06.2020 16:33 |
| Story ID: | 382564 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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