Photo Essay: April 2023 snow at Fort McCoy's Veterans Memorial Plaza

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Veterans Memorial Plaza is shown April 17, 2023, at the Commemorative Area at Fort McCoy, Wis., after the installation received 10 inches of snow. The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are at the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts and is called the Commemorative Area. The Commemorative Area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy's unique story. These facilities are representative of the types found in the cantonment area when it was constructed in 1942. Three of the buildings — an administrative facility, a dining facility, and a barracks — are set up to depict Soldier life during the 1940s. Display items include a World War II chapel, bunk beds, footlockers, mannequins, and potbelly stoves. Another building highlights four different modern military training venues, and a separate facility shows various training aids. The area also has the Equipment Park. Veterans Memorial Plaza is a tribute to all of the men and women who have served the nation during each era of Fort McCoy’s history. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

04.18.2023

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                               

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Veterans Memorial Plaza is shown April 17, 2023, at the Commemorative Area at Fort McCoy, Wis., after the installation received 10 inches of snow.

The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are at the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts and is called the Commemorative Area.

The Commemorative Area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy's unique story.

These facilities are representative of the types found in the cantonment area when it was constructed in 1942.

Three of the buildings — an administrative facility, a dining facility, and a barracks — are set up to depict Soldier life during the 1940s. Display items include a World War II chapel, bunk beds, footlockers, mannequins, and potbelly stoves.

Another building highlights four different modern military training venues, and a separate facility shows various training aids. The area also has the Equipment Park.

Veterans Memorial Plaza is a tribute to all of the men and women who have served the nation during each era of Fort McCoy’s history.

Construction on this memorial began in 2006, as did the work to create five Soldier statues representative of each of the major conflicts that Fort McCoy had been involved with to that point in time: i.e., World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the war on terrorism.

The formal dedication of Veterans Memorial Plaza was June 13, 2009, the date of Fort McCoy's 100th anniversary.

Several descendants of the installation's founder, Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy, attended this dedication.

The dedication was the key event in a series of activities held during Fort McCoy's yearlong centennial observance.

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: 04.18.2023
• Date Posted: 04.18.2023 14:20
• Story ID: 442842
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US