Photo By Scott Sturkol | Work is shown Nov. 13, 2025, where contractors prepared areas of the Fort McCoy...... read more read more
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Work was completed in October 2025 by contractors to improve the guest experience at the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area with the construction of concrete pads for placement of benches, picnic tables, and garbage cans throughout the historic area at Fort McCoy.
The work was done despite the government shutdown in October because this project was a contracted effort.
Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Public Works (DPW) coordinated the completion of the work with support from the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy Garrison leadership, and the Fort McCoy Resource Management Office.
Overall, 14 concrete pads were completed in different sizes throughout the historical area, DPW officials said. Work on the project took approximately two weeks.
Fort McCoy Public Affairs officials said the project improved numerous areas of the Commemorative Area to allow for more seating and easier maintenance of the grounds.
The 900 block of the installation, the Commemorative Area, and the 11-acre area surrounding it are at the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts
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. The area includes the Fort McCoy History Center, historical buildings, Equipment Park, Veterans Memorial Plaza, picnic areas throughout, and more.
Through every major operation and more, that history is remembered in the Fort McCoy History Center, said Public Affairs Specialist Melissa Dubois with the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office. 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.
The area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy’s unique story, Dubois said. 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 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.
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, history of the area shows.
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.
All of the new concrete pads are near the History Center, Veterans Memorial Plaza, and Equipment Park.
For more information about the Commemorative Area, contact the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office 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: | 11.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2025 12:26 |
| Story ID: | 551583 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 10 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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