Courtesy Photo | (Left to right) Lance Cpl. Robert E. Kirch, Cpl. Jack Hoss, and Cpl. Russel W. Pack...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy, Wis., was established in 1909. Here is a look back at some installation history from April 2019 and back.
75 years ago — April 6, 1944
“Camp McCoy is a credit to the nation,” said Maj. Gen. Henry S. Aurand, commanding general of the Sixth Service command, following completion of his two-day visit to the post April 6, 1944.
Speaking to a meeting of officers, he said, “Your fine work and your splendid contribution to the war effort is known throughout the nation. Responsible for all of this are you officers of the service forces and your command officer, Col. George M. MacMullin. What you are doing here is known and appreciated by those in Washington. Personally, I want to thank you for the part you played, and I bring you the appreciation of other generals.”
48 Years Ago — April 30, 1971
Lt. Col. Louis L. Burwell Jr., executive officer at Camp McCoy, and A. N. Schantz, post forester, planted Camp McCoy’s millionth tree on Arbor Day, April 30. They planted the tree on the east side of post headquarters.
The Army Forestry program began in 1961, and Camp McCoy has planted trees in a managed reforestration process since that time. The program is multipurpose in that the trees are not only planted for timber production, but also are selected and arranged so as to provide wildlife habitat, prevent soil erosion, increase outdoor recreational benefits, and contribute to clean air and water.
When the 1971 timber harvest was completed, more than $300,000 was collected from Camp McCoy timber sales and deposited into the U.S. treasury. All of the reforestration work at Camp McCoy has been financed through the sale of mature timber, not from normal budget appropriations.
The millionth tree is one of the 80,000 Norway pine and 20,000 native shrubs planted n 1971 by Schantz and his crew.
30 Years Ago — April 8, 1989
Six Marine Reservists were injured when a UH-IN “Huey” helicopter crashed in a training area about 2 miles north of the fort’s cantonment area April 8, 1989.
Injured were pilot Lt. Col. Bill Nerbun, co-pilot Capt. Calvin Mohrhardt and crew chief Staff Sgt. Lewis Sharp, all of Chicago, and passengers Maj. Richard Piasecki of the Dallas, Texas, area, Staff Sgt. Rodtiey Consalvo and Capt. Mark Totiian, both based at the Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, Calif. All were treated and released at St. Mary’s Hospital in Sparta. The six Marines are members of various units of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, headquartered at the Naval Air Station in Glenview, Ill.
Marine officials said the aircraft that was destroyed was one of four flying to Fort McCoy for training when the crash occurred. The helicopter belonged to Glenview’s 776th Helicopter Marine Light Squadron.
With the help of employees from Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Logistics, Marines removed the wreckage from the site then trucked them to Naval Air Station Glenview, where the investigation continued.
20 Years Ago — April 1999
A member of the Fort McCoy community recently returned from two weeks in Katmandu, Nepal.
His mission was part of a joint effort to design and build seismically resistant hospital annexes, which included assistance from the U.S. ambassador to Nepal, the National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal, the U.S. Army Pacific Command, and the 412th Engineer Command Hawaii Forward, an Army Reserve unit from Hawaii. The 412th is headquartered at Vicksburg, Miss.
Maj. Nick Gnemi, a U.S. Army reservist with the 2nd Battalion, 338th Regiment of the 85th Division (Exercise), headquartered at Fort McCoy, volunteered for the mission. In civilian life, Gnemi is an architect with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Support Services.
Nepal is a small country — about the same size as Wisconsin — and is bordered by India and China. Gnemi said the region experiences periodic earthquakes because of its close proximity to the Himalayas and the associated fault lines.
Gnemi was part of a four-member military team, which also included Maj. John Larson, a Wisconsin National Guard civil engineer from the 264th Engineer Group of Chippewa Falls, Wis.; a representative of the U.S. Army Pacific’s engineering section; and a member of the 412th Engineer Command’s Hawaii Forward. The team did seismic design work and met with many military, government, and civilian officials in Katmandu.
10 Years Ago — April 10, 2009
Soldiers transitioning from the lower enlisted ranks to becoming a noncommissioned officer (NCO) are among the most important people in the Army as they prepare to lead the organization into the future, said Command Sgt. Maj. Leon E. Caffie.
Caffie, command sergeant major of the Army Reserve, was the guest speaker at the Fort McCoy NCO Academy Warrior Leader Course graduation.
“You are part of the select elite who have the opportunity to attend this course,” Caffie said. “I need you more than I needed you before, because I cannot do this job by myself. … I can set a tone, but I cannot get out in the trenches and do the work that you are required to do.
“I need you in order for this organization to succeed and grow and to continue to flourish in the future as the backbone of the Army,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2019 10:18 |
| Story ID: | 319371 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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