Photo By Scott Sturkol | Visitors to the 2026 Fort McCoy Retiree Appreciation Day (RAD) also visit the Fort...... read more read more
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For several dozen military retirees and family members attending Fort McCoy’s 2026 Retiree Appreciation Day, Sept. 11 was an opportunity not only to reconnect with the military community but also to step into Fort McCoy’s past.
As part of the 2026 Retiree Appreciation Day activities, the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area was opened specifically for attendees to explore the installation's history, memorials, historic buildings and military equipment displays.
The opening was supported by members of the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, who assisted visitors and helped provide access to the historical area and its attractions.
Located in Fort McCoy’s historic 900 block, the Commemorative Area encompasses approximately 10 to 11 acres and serves as one of the installation's primary locations for preserving and interpreting Fort McCoy history. The area includes the Fort McCoy History Center, Veterans Memorial Plaza, Fort McCoy Equipment Park, and five preserved World War II-era buildings.
For retirees — many of whom spent portions of their military careers training, working or serving at Fort McCoy or at other military installations — the visit provided an opportunity to see tangible reminders of the Army's past.
Walking through Fort McCoy history
Many visitors began their time in the Commemorative Area by exploring the Fort McCoy History Center. The center contains artifacts, photographs, documents, uniforms, memorabilia and other displays documenting Fort McCoy's history from its establishment in 1909 through more than a century of military training and operations.
The collection includes items connected to World War I and World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and other missions supported by Fort McCoy.
Among the historical items displayed are a World War I-era gas mask belonging to Fort McCoy namesake Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy, early military artifacts, World War II-era items and objects connected to the installation's numerous missions over the decades. Recent additions have continued to expand the collection and tell more stories about the people and operations connected to Fort McCoy.
The center first opened in 1999 during Fort McCoy's 90th anniversary observance. For retirees visiting in 2026, the exhibits provided more than a collection of old objects. They offered reminders of how the Army has changed while many of its enduring missions and traditions have remained.
Preserving a piece of World War II Fort McCoy
Outside the History Center, visitors could walk among five preserved World War II-era buildings. The structures were set aside as part of Fort McCoy's historical preservation efforts in the early 1990s. Between 1992 and 1995, five adjoining buildings in the historic 900 block were permanently preserved as representative examples of the cantonment constructed during the massive expansion of Camp McCoy during World War II.
Three of the buildings — a barracks, dining facility and administrative building — contain displays depicting aspects of Soldier life during the 1940s.
Visitors can see bunk beds, footlockers, uniforms, mannequins, period artwork, stoves and other items that help illustrate what life was like for Soldiers who trained at Camp McCoy during World War II.
Another building highlights modern militaryy training venues, while another contains displays of training aids.
Together, the buildings allow visitors to physically walk through a small portion of the Fort McCoy environment that existed more than 80 years ago.
Remembering generations of service
Another major attraction for the RAD visitors was Veterans Memorial Plaza. Dedicated June 13, 2009, during Fort McCoy’s centennial celebration, the plaza serves as a place of remembrance for the men and women who have served the nation during the major eras represented in Fort McCoy's history.
The plaza includes Soldier statues representing World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Global War on Terrorism.
Since its dedication, the plaza has become a regular setting for military ceremonies, commemorative events, Armed Forces Day activities and other Fort McCoy events. For RAD visitors, the plaza provided a place to pause and reflect on the generations of Soldiers who served before them — and on the generations who continue to serve today.
Equipment that tells a story
The Fort McCoy Equipment Park provided another popular stop. The outdoor collection contains more than 70 pieces of military equipment, including vehicles, artillery pieces, helicopters, trucks, trailers and other systems representing different eras of Army history.
The Equipment Park began in the mid-1990s with a small number of display pieces and has grown into one of the installation's major historical attractions.
The equipment was selected specifically to represent systems that were used at Fort McCoy or were representative of military operations conducted at the installation throughout its history.
For veterans and retirees, the displays can be especially meaningful. A particular vehicle, weapons system or piece of equipment can bring back memories of a former assignment, a training exercise or a period of military service.
For younger visitors, the displays provide an opportunity to see the equipment Soldiers used across generations rather than simply reading about it in a book.
A continuing role for Fort McCoy Public Affairs
Opening the Commemorative Area for Retiree Appreciation Day also provided an example of the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office’s continuing role in preserving and sharing the installation’s history.
PAO personnel support the Commemorative Area throughout the year by coordinating access, supporting tours and events, documenting activities and helping visitors understand the significance of the site's buildings, artifacts and memorials.
The area is available for scheduled visits by civilian groups and military units throughout the year on a space- and staff-available basis. The Equipment Park and Veterans Memorial Plaza also are available for visitors year-round during designated hours, weather permitting.
That support becomes particularly important during major installation events when larger groups of visitors are given an opportunity to explore the area. Retiree Appreciation Day has become one such opportunity.
In 2023, nearly 100 RAD attendees visited the Commemorative Area when it was opened as part of that year’s event. In 2024, nearly 60 attendees visited the area. The continued interest demonstrates that the historical area is more than a static collection of buildings and artifacts. It is a place where former Soldiers can reconnect with Army history and where current Soldiers, families and members of the public can learn about those who served before them.
Connecting past, present
The Sept. 11 visit was another example of that connection. Fort McCoy continues to train thousands of military personnel each year, while its Commemorative Area preserves the stories of the Soldiers who trained here decades ago.
In July 2026 alone, nearly 500 people participated in documented tours, ceremonies and public visitation at the Commemorative Area. Visitors included Civil Air Patrol members, Army Reserve Soldiers, military professionals, Wisconsin employers, nurses, military leaders, families and members of the public.
The variety of visitors illustrates the site's continuing purpose. It is simultaneously a museum, memorial, educational site, ceremony location and gathering place.
For the military retirees attending Fort McCoy's 2026 Retiree Appreciation Day, it offered something particularly appropriate: an opportunity to reconnect with the history of the Army they once served and the installation that continues to serve America’s military today.
As retirees walked among the historic buildings, viewed military equipment, visited the History Center and paused at Veterans Memorial Plaza, the past was not simply something being displayed.
It was something being remembered. And for Fort McCoy Public Affairs personnel supporting the visitors, the Sept. 11 opening provided another opportunity to help ensure that the installation’s history remains accessible to the people who helped make that history — and to the generations who will carry it forward.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
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 athttps://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: | 09.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2026 17:52 |
| Story ID: | 574941 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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