Photo By Scott Sturkol | Hundreds of military retirees and family members participate in a prayer breakfast...... read more read more
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Hundreds of military retirees and family members participated in a prayer breakfast Sept. 5, 2025, at the start of the 2025 Retiree Appreciation Day (RAD) at Fort McCoy, Wis.
Attendees received a free breakfast and received a presentation from guest speaker Father Conrad Targonski, university chaplain at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis.
The Fort McCoy Religious Support Office helped organize the prayer breakfast.
Chaplain (Maj.) Walter McCall, the new garrison chaplain at Fort McCoy, opened the breakfast festivities in talking with the attendees.
McCall began his position in August 2025. He is responsible for overseeing the Religious Support Office and was highlighted for re-opening the main post chapel recently for Protestant worship services in late August.
After McCall spoke, several other chaplains gave special prayers before Targonski spoke.
During Targonski's presentation, he shared words of inspiration and care.
According to the Viterbo website at https://www.viterbo.edu/profile-list/fr-conrad-targonski-ofm, Targonski has not only served as university chaplain, he also served in the military "where he traveled with enlisted men and women to many parts of the world including deployments in war zone locales."
"He retired in September 2010 from the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps with a rank of captain, having served the Marine Corps for 22 years," the website states.
During his talk, Targonski talked about pilgrimage and personal experiences.
He talked of one pilgrimage to Camino de Santiago.
According to history, the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, is a network of ancient pilgrimage routes leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where the apostle St. James the Greater is said to be buried. It is one of the most important Christian pilgrimages in history, known for religious significance, rich culture, and varied landscapes. The most famous route is the Camino Francés (French Way), but other popular options include the Camino del Norte (Northern Way) and the Camino Portugués (Portuguese Way).
"It's since the 8th century that people would go on pilgrimage to kind of like get their minds set," Targonski said.. "So I went with another Marine who was actually assigned to go with me because I had a problem getting lost. I drove my sergeant major crazy in Iraq. ... But anyways, I wanted to go on this pilgrimage. It's the destination. You're away from everything.
"Pilgrimage is different," he said. "You go to the pilgrimage and it's all about the journey. It's day by day."
Targonski further explained the pilgrimage experience.
"Number one, pilgrimage is openness," he said. "An openness to possibilities. You don't plan your day. Number two, the attentiveness to things, to nature. ... And the third is response. Ladies and gentlemen, it's all about spirituality in the place."
Ironically, many of the RAD attendees made a pilgrimage to Fort McCoy for the event from all across Wisconsin and met with many other fellow military retirees.
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: | 09.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2025 23:40 |
| Story ID: | 547598 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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