Photo By Melissa Dubois | Participants in the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) 2025...... read more read more
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Forty-four employers from across Wisconsin were a part of the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) 2025 Boss Lift event on June 4 at Fort McCoy.
The event included Wisconsin National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters flying in the employer representatives on six Black Hawks, static display presentations at the Wisconsin Military Academy, and a visit to Fort McCoy’s historic Commemorative Area visit.
The many visitors with the Boss Lift were able to learn more about Fort McCoy’s and the Army’s history, said Public Affairs Specialist Melissa Dubois with the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office.
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 first took a walk around the Fort McCoy History Center.
Through every major operation and more, that history is remembered in the Fort McCoy History Center, according to Dubois. The History Center features exhibits as well as displays of artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia that tells 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, POW/MIA artifacts, 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 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, brought a new artifact for the center. 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.”
Read more about that artifact at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/429892/artifact-donated-fort-mccoy-founders-grandson-speaks-installations-origins.
The Boss Lift visitors also toured the many historical buildings in the area. The area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy’s unique story, Jones said, who opened the area for the visitors. 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.
Some of the visitors also took a chance to tour the Equipment 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.
Read more about Equipment Park at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/501097/national-picnic-month-2025-fort-mccoys-equipment-park-offers-up-area-view-army-history-enjoy-picnic.
Visitors also checked out Veterans Memorial Plaza. 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 many events, including annual Armed Forces Day Open House events, dozens of official events, dozens of tours, and met by thousands of people throughout the years.
On a Facebook post by Wisconsin ESGR, they also reviewed their Boss Lift event that took several hours on the installation.
“The Wisconsin National Guard provided six UH-60 Black Hawks to move 44 employers flying from Appleton, Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau,” the post states. “These employers were brought to Fort McCoy and given briefings. … They saw a hands-on static display and then treated to MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) for lunch.”
Wisconsin ESGR organizers also added a comment about visiting the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area at part of the event.
“Fort McCoy — thanks for the hospitality during our ESGR Boss Lift. The tour of the Fort McCoy Museum really enabled the employers to learn your history and understand Fort McCoy’s strategic role in our national defense.”
Boss Lift attendee Jenny Smith stated that she enjoyed participating in the event in a related post on the ESGR page.
“What an awesome opportunity,” Smith wrote. “Thank you for this.”
For more information about the Commemorative Area, contact the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office at 502-898-2407, by email at usarmy.mccoy.imcom-central.list.pao-admin@army.mil.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post 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.”
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2025 16:37 |
| Story ID: | 501768 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
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