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 founded in 1909. Here's a look back at its history from April 2022 and back.
79 years ago — April 14, 1943
The first scheduled train to steam to a stop at the new Camp McCoy train was station was a minute early Wednesday morning (April 14, 1943).
Other than the arrival of the 7:59 from Chicago at 7:58, the only unusual feature of the grand opening of the new depot a mile south of Post Headquarters on J Street was the lack of fanfare. Only six shivering station attendants and several carpenters emerged from the depot, still unheated, when the Milwaukee train huffed to a halt.
There were a couple of false alarms before the initial train arrived to christen the station with spurting steam. “There she comes!” exclaimed an attendant, pointing out a smudge of smoke rising the dark hills about a mile away. Everyone stared hard out the row of broad windows which makes the spacious waiting room of the white-shingled station bright inside.
No train appeared, and someone commented: “It’s a grass fire.”
Then something moved around the distant curve in the tracks. But anticipation again collapsed into anti-climax as a little put-put car with a couple of workmen huddled aboard came scurrying along the Northwestern tracks which run along north side of the depot. The Milwaukee tracks are on the south.
When the train actually arrived, an officer and two soldiers clambered off. No one got on. Honor of being the first to alight went to Lt. Col. Julian Abell, commanding officer of the 654th Engineers. Asked to comment on his feeling at being the No. 1 arrival on grand opening day, Col. Abell glanced at the tattletale-gray sky whipping by overhead and said: “When did it turn so cold up here?” Explaining that he had just come back from several days at Fort Sheridan (Ill.), he added: “Well, the train got here on time.”
75 years ago — April 1947
Army Week started off with a bang on Monday, April 7, (1947) and continued to gain momentum as the week progressed. Numerous and varied activities were scheduled for the camp and also for surrounding communities which proclaimed Army Day on selected days during the week.
First to proclaim Army Day in the area was Tomah on Wednesday, April 9, and Sparta selected the following day, Thursday, to honor our forces. The city of La Crosse held their main celebration on Saturday, April 12.
Included in McCoy’s participation in the nation-wide celebration of Army Week were nine Army officers of McCoy, who appeared in radio addresses and also spoke before high school assemblies in all of the surrounding towns, in addition to their appearances and speeches at all meetings of civic and fraternal organizations in the area that week.
General assemblies were organized through the wholehearted cooperation of civic leaders, in Sparta and Tomah, which were open to the general public. Music by respective high school bands was provided for these assemblies along with the Army Day Prayer by the post chaplain, speeches were delivered by Camp McCoy officers and several War Department films were shown.
On Saturday, April 12, the last day of Army Week, 200 Boy Scouts from Sparta and Tomah visited Camp McCoy and were conducted on a tour of the post by Maj. Neville B. Bozarth, post special services officer. Included in this tour were rides on Weasels provided by Lt. Keith F. DuBois, assistant ordnance officer.
On the same day at 2 p.m. in La Crosse, McCoy troops and equipment provided by Task Force Frost participated in a colorful parade that was witnessed by over 20,000 spectators. Saturday evening the Officer’s club, NCO club, and Civilian club held parties in commemoration of this great event.
35 years ago — April 1987
A safety investigation board, convened by Commander, 12th Air Force, Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, continued to investigate the fatal March 27 (1987) crash of an Air National Guard A-10 jet aircraft at Fort McCoy.
The seven-member board, trained and experienced in aircraft accident investigation, was headed by Col. Richard Hellier, vice commander of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
“The objective of the safety investigation board is to determine the facts and causes of the mishap, and to make recommendations to prevent future occurrences,” Hellier said.
The investigation was continuing as scheduled and was expected to take up to 30 days, Hellier said.
The A-10 tactical fighter jet belonged to the 176th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 128th Tactical Fighter Wing, Truax Field, Madison, Wis.
The pilot of the single-seat aircraft, Capt. William J. Miller, 35, of DeForest, Wis., was killed in the crash. Miller, an aircraft commander for the squadron, had been a member of the 128th Tactical Fighter Wing since 1972 and had logged 999.5 hours of flying time.
Miller left Truax Field at about 8:30 a.m. with two other aircraft on a routine tactical training exercise involving practice weapon delivery attacks on the artillery impact area at Fort McCoy.
The crash occurred at about 9:15 a.m. and was reported by the other Air National Guard pilots flying in the area. Miller’s aircraft crashed on the side of a ridge, approximately 1 mile north of its target, according to Hellier.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II was the first Air Force aircraft to be designed specifically for close-air support of ground forces. The aircraft would be used against all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles.
The accident marked the first fatality involving a Wisconsin Air National Guard aircraft since 1975.
25 years ago — April 12, 1997
Technology available at Fort McCoy enabled an Army Reserve Readiness Training Center instructor to teach a class in Milwaukee April 12 without ever leaving post.
The test was the first time interactive distance learning has been used to teach a class from Fort McCoy, as well as the first time it was done in the U.S. Army Reserve Command, said Tim Shuffield.
Shuffield was the ARRTC course team leader for the Army Training Requirements and Resources System team.
In distance learning, the teacher is at one site and the students are at another. Instruction is provided via a two-way video/audio system that lets the teacher and students see and hear each other. Fort McCoy had a Picture Television system located in building 1421, which was used as its basic distance learning system.
Distance learning did not affect ARRTC’s mission as a central training site but provided ARRTC with more opportunities to reach a larger student population that otherwise would be unable to come to Fort McCoy for such reasons as budget constraints, Shuffield said.
“This is the wave of the future,” Shuffield said. “The Chief of Staff of the Army and Training and Doctrine Command are advocating the use of distance learning more and more to ensure the Army meets its future training needs.”
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the nly U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2022 16:36 |
| Story ID: | 418997 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, This month in Fort McCoy history — April 2022, by Aimee Malone, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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