Photo Story: New concrete pads added to Fort McCoy’s Commemorative Area; improves guest experience

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Work is shown Nov. 20, 2025, where contractors finished areas of the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area and installed concrete pads for placement of benches, picnic tables, and garbage cans throughout the historic area at Fort McCoy, Wis. 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. Veterans Memorial Plaza is a tribute to all of the men and women who have served the nation during each era of Fort McCoy’s history. 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. The Commemorative Area also 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. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol/Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

12.21.2025

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                                           

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

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.

Items to place on the pads were put in place Nov. 20.

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.

For more information about the Commemorative Area, contact the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office by email at [e-mail].

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: 12.21.2025
• Date Posted: 12.22.2025 00:45
• Story ID: 555084
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US