Photo By Scott Sturkol | The Vietnam War-era Army uniform of Alan Blencoe is shown March 6, 2023, at the Fort...... read more read more
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Vietnam War veteran and former Fort McCoy Supervisory Public Safety Dispatcher Alan Blencoe’s Army uniform was officially placed in a display case March 6 in his remembrance by his wife Kathy and Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) Director Mark Reaves at the Fort McCoy History Center.
Blencoe, a former Army sergeant who served in Vietnam and the Army from February 1970 to December 1971, served as the supervisory public safety dispatcher at Fort McCoy from April 2011 to May 2019 when he retired. He died unexpectedly Sept. 14, 2021.
“Kathy reached out to me last fall to inquire about if we would be interested in Al’s Vietnam uniform for the History Center display,” said Public Affairs Specialist Kaleen Holliday with the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office. “Kathy donated the uniform by mailing it to me, and we coordinated with DES to have a small ceremony to place the uniform in the case. This was meaningful to me, as Al was a mentor to me when I worked at DES, and we shared the connection of being life-long learners. Now Al is a part of our History Center, and he will continue to help others be life-long learners by sharing a piece of his Vietnam experience.”
Before serving at Fort McCoy as a dispatcher, Blencoe served in the same capacity for La Crosse County, Wis. In all, he served in 911 communications for more than 35 years.
During the presentation of the uniform at the Fort McCoy History Center in the Commemorative Area, Holliday expressed her appreciation to Kathy Blencoe.
“Thank you so much for reaching out last fall,” Holliday said. “I was very touched. Being able to talk with you and then when you sent Al's uniform, that was very meaningful, and being able to get it set up down here was also … very meaningful.”
Reaves added, “(He) was a good friend. I met him in 2014. … Al became a really good friend, and I miss him because he was a great wealth of knowledge and was always there to help you.”
And Kathy said, “I'm just very grateful that you made this all happen.”
The Fort McCoy History Center was added to the Commemorative Area in 1999 during the installation’s 90th anniversary. The center features exhibits and displays of artifacts, photographs and period memorabilia. The History Center serves to tell the story of Fort McCoy based on the military personnel who trained here and the civilian workforce who supported the service personnel who passed through the installation.
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.”
Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2023 16:51 |
| Story ID: | 439889 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 235 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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