Photo By Melissa Dubois | Personnel with the Wisconsin Conservation Corps (WisCorps) make a special visit to...... read more read more
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Two crews from Wisconsin Conservation Corps (WisCorps) made a special visit to Fort McCoy’s Commemorative Area on July 11 during one of the open hours’ days at the area where people at Fort McCoy can go see all the area has to offer.
The nine people in the crews were accompanied by Natural Resources Specialist Jessica Salesman with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch. Together they walked through all the areas of the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area.
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. In visiting the History Center, the crew personnel were able to see how the history of every major operation, and everything else supported, is remembered in the Fort McCoy History Center.
In 2015, the History Center was improved after several months of work to renovate the interior and exterior of the facility, Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office officials said. 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.
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 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.”
And more recently, other items have been added to the History Center collection. In January, a small, wooden keepsake box adorned with carvings and the inscription, “Gefangenschaft Amerika 1944,” was donated to the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office for inclusion in the Fort McCoy History Center.
Rosanna Laude, who operates the Upscale Rummage store in Libertyville, Ill., came across the artifact made by a German prisoner of war (POW) from World War II in donations to the shop. In lieu of selling it, because she knew what she had, she contacted the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and offered to donate it to the post — which it was.
After further inspection and research with staff and archaeologists at Fort McCoy, it was determined the inscription reads, “Imprisonment America 1944.” The lingering question after that was did the German POW make the box at then-Camp McCoy or elsewhere?
Ryan J. Howell, staff archaeologist and cultural resource manager with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch, said German POWs were not only located at Camp McCoy during World War II, but they were also in areas all throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois, including near Libertyville.
“There were a series of small canning and farm camps scattered across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois,” Howell said. “That might be a more likely provenance for Libertyville as those camps ran out of Camp Sheridan and Camp Joliet in northern Chicago, not Camp McCoy. But there were a lot of transfers of prisoners back and forth between the two.”
And even more recently, more historical photos have been donated by the civilian community with ties to McCoy.
In the Equipment Park, the WisCorps crew members were able to see a variety of tanks as well as other equipment there. Tanks in the park include the M4A3 Combat Tank (Sherman), Medium, full tracked, with a 76 mm gun. First built in 1942 by Ford Motor Company, the M4A3 provided firepower, mobility and crew protection for offensive combat, according to the Equipment Park guide. It was the principal U.S. combat tank in all combat zones for most of World War II, in service for 1943-44, and was used by the U.S. Army and National Guard and foreign countries for years after World War II.
The park also has an M60A3 Combat Tank, fully tracked, with a 105 mm gun. First produced in 1960 by the Detroit Tank Arsenal and Chrysler Corporation, the M60A3 evolved from the M-48 Patton Tank. It was used extensively in the 1970s and 1980s as the main assault vehicle of an armored/mechanized infantry/infantry division. The M60 is the first U.S. vehicle to be equipped with laser range finders and thermal sights, giving it the capability of being employed at night and under conditions of limited visibility.
And from the Vietnam era (1960s-70s), the park also has a UH-1H “Huey” Helicopter on display. The “Huey,” first produced in the 1950s, is considered the longest-serving aircraft in the U.S. Army. The Army’s workhorse, the “Huey” served as a troop transporter, armed helicopter, ambulance and utility aircraft in support of Soldiers in combat operations, according to the Equipment Park guide.
The group also looked over 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.
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 year-long 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 502-898-2407, 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://d34w7g4gy10iej.cloudfront.net/pubs/pdf_73364.pdf.
According to the WisCorps website at , they described more about what the youth who work for them are all about.
“Our crew program assembles groups of young adults (ages 18-30) who serve together for three-plus months under WisCorps staff guidance,” the website states. “Crews travel throughout the season across the Upper Midwest on trail construction, habitat management, and carpentry projects on public lands.”
At Fort McCoy, the WisCorps crew members were supporting several natural resources-related projects and tasks, Salesman said.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be “The Total Force Training Center.”
The post supports Army Reserve, National Guard, active duty, and other service members from all services.
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,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
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: | 07.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2025 18:32 |
| Story ID: | 544322 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 1,757 |
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