Military veterans make March 2024 visit to Fort McCoy's historic Commemorative Area

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Military veterans from the Ettrick, Wis., area visit the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area on March 20, 2024, at Fort McCoy, Wis. Several veterans took a short tour of the buildings and History Center at the area and learned more about the installation’s history and heritage. The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are at the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts and is called the Commemorative Area. The Commemorative Area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy’s unique story. These facilities are representative of the types found in the cantonment area when it was constructed in 1942. Three of the buildings — an administrative facility, a dining facility, and a barracks — are set up to depict Soldier life during the 1940s. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

03.22.2024

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                        

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Military veterans from the Ettrick, Wis., area visited the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area on March 20 to learn more about Fort McCoy’s and the Army’s history.

The veterans visited the area for just over an hour and viewed all the area had to offer, but in a sped-up way because their schedule only allowed for a short visit, said Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer Tonya Townsell.

The group visited mainly the Fort McCoy History Center and the historical buildings at the area with a brief walk into Equipment Park.

The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts that make up the Commemorative Area. Many of the visitors would first take a walk around the Fort McCoy History Center.

Through every major operation, and everything else supported, that history is remembered in the Fort McCoy History Center. In 2015, former Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer Linda Fournier described how the History Center was improved after several months of work to renovate the interior and exterior of the facility. Fournier said then those interior renovations provided for expanded exhibit floor space, improved lighting, and installation of energy efficient heating and air-conditioning systems. Exterior improvements included new steps and a ramp to improve access for visitors.

During its reopening in 2015 on Sept. 11, visitors experienced the results of those improvements firsthand, especially the increased floor space, which allowed for the display of more of the installation’s historical collection.

The History Center features exhibits as well as displays of artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia that tell the story of Fort McCoy since its founding in 1909. The center first was opened in 1999 in building 902 when the Fort McCoy observed its 90th anniversary.

Whether it’s Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy’s World War I gas mask, horseshoes from the early
camp stables, World War II-era uniforms, or items from the 1980 Cuban Refugee Resettlement mission, the History Center offers exhibits spanning from Fort McCoy’s earliest beginnings to the installation’s involvement in the war on terrorism.

In 2022, the center also received two new additions as well. In July 2022, Alan McCoy, grandson of Maj. Gen. Robert Bruce McCoy for whom Fort McCoy is named after had visited the installation with his family members, and with him he brought a century-old artifact he’d received in the form of a wood crate that included the words stamped on it: “CAMP EMERY UPTON” and “CAMP ROBINSON.”


Some of the visitors on this stop in the History Center said they enjoyed seeing the only major artifact in the center with those former camp names.

The Commemorative Area overall consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy’s unique story, Townsell said, who oversees the overall operations at the area. These facilities are representative of the types found in the cantonment area when it was constructed in 1942.

Three of the buildings — an administrative facility, a dining facility, and a barracks — are set up to depict Soldier life during the 1940s. Display items include a World War II chapel, bunk beds, footlockers, mannequins, and potbelly stoves. Another building highlights four different modern military training venues, and a separate facility shows various training aids.

The Commemorative Area also includes the Fort McCoy History Center. Since 1999, the Fort McCoy History Center has been a go-to stop for learning about not only Fort McCoy’s storied past but also that of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserve, and even the Army National Guard.

For more than a century, Fort McCoy, which was previously Camp McCoy, and before that Camp Robinson and Camp Emory-Upton, has had a stake on things that have affected the world stage to include World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Global War on Terrorism and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and more recently Operation Allies Welcome.

When this group walked into Equipment Park, lots of interest was made to the Sherman tank at the park. The Equipment Park is an outdoor display of historic and present-day equipment representative of the types used on the installation. The design of the park allows for display of 70 pieces of equipment, ranging from helicopters and howitzers to trucks and trailers.

Visitors only gazed at Veterans Memorial Plaza but said they appreciated it. Construction on Veterans Memorial Plaza began in 2006, as did the work to create the five Soldier statues on the memorial 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, Fournier also said in a past news article.

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. The dedication was the key event in a series of activities held during Fort McCoy’s yearlong centennial observance.

Ever since its dedication, the Veterans Memorial Plaza has been the center of more than a dozen annual Armed Forces Day Open House events, dozens of official events, dozens of tours, and met by thousands of people throughout the years.

For more information about the Commemorative Area, contact the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office at 608-388-2407, by email at [e-mail], or go online to see the Commemorative Area section in the Fort McCoy Guide at https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/67840.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.” See more at https://home.army.mil/imcom.

• Date Taken: 03.22.2024
• Date Posted: 03.22.2024 17:10
• Story ID: 466911
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US