Photo By Scott Sturkol | A U.S. Army locomotive used as part of rail operations is shown Aug. 25, 2022, at Fort...... read more read more
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A U.S. Army locomotive used as part of rail operations is shown in August 2022 at Fort McCoy, Wis.
For the many decades of Fort McCoy’s existence, the capability to transport cargo and equipment to and from the installation by rail has always been there.
During World War II, for example, the railroad at Fort McCoy was one of the main forms of transportation for bringing troops in for training and home after the war as well as for moving cargo and equipment in and out of the installation.
In July 2020, former Technician Fifth Grade Donald Whitaker visited Fort McCoy and recalled when he boarded a train and left then-Camp McCoy after serving two years, six months, and seven days in the Army during World War II. Whitaker also recalled what it felt like arriving by train to get ready to leave the Army.
“I just remember coming in by train (to McCoy) knowing you were getting out, and we were all saying the sooner the better,” Whitaker said.
Those earlier days of rail on post did involve transporting people more than today, but rail still remains as important as ever to support the Army’s transportation needs, said the Installation Transportation Officer Douglas “Terry” Altman with the LRC Transportation Division.
“Fort McCoy remains very active in the rail operations,” Altman said in 2021. “In 2020 alone, we coordinated three rail movements, and it has been continuously active here especially in recent years.”
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 the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2022 15:09 |
| Story ID: | 428052 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 195 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Photo Essay: Army Locomotive at Fort McCoy, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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