Courtesy Photo | A photo of a World War II-era post card is shown June 12, 2023, at Fort McCoy, Wis....... read more read more
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In June 2023, the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office received a letter from Steven Knight of Clever, Mo., who mailed two World War II-era post cards he found to the installation.
The post cards, which are from 1944, include a post card showing the Fort McCoy Garrison Headquarters building, which in 1944 was the division headquarters. And in the second post card, it shows a set of three buildings that were the military police headquarters in 1944.
Each card was created by Moen Photo Service in La Crosse, Wis., in the 1940s.
Knight noted in a card sent with the post cards, “While shopping in a flea market in Springfield, Mo., I was looking at old vintage post cards, and I hate to see anything of the past lost. I thought you folks might like to have them."
A woman named Ethel actually mailed one of the post cards (the military police headquarters card) on July 27, 1944, to an address on Whipple Street in Chicago. She was possibly writing to her parents.
On the card she wrote, “Dear Folks, just a line to say we are enjoying our vacation a lot. Wish you could be with us. Edward is having the time of his life. Really never stops running. Hope you are okay and will be seeing you when we get in. Love Ethel.”
When the post cards were made, the buildings depicted were part of the “New Camp” at then Camp McCoy.
According to Fort McCoy’s history, on Aug. 30, 1942, Camp McCoy hosted an open house for public inspection of the “new” Camp McCoy. According to Provost Marshal, Capt. Hans Biegel, the crowd was nearly 50,000 visitors for the historic day.
Fort McCoy was established in 1909 in the location many know today as South Post. It originated as the Sparta Maneuver Tract, which included Camp Emory Upton and Camp Robinson. This area was renamed by the War Department to Camp McCoy in 1926 after the passing of the area’s visionary — Maj. Gen. Robert Bruce McCoy.
In February 1942, the War Department announced the building of a cantonment area, referred to as the “New Camp,” which is still Fort McCoy’s cantonment area today.
The new camp site was all countryside consisting of scrub oak, jack pine, and wild grass in early 1942, history shows. More than 1,500 buildings were constructed by more than 8,000 workers, which took nine months to complete at a cost of $30 million (approximately $545 million today). The triangular share of the cantonment area, or the “triad,” was designed to allow troop units to live and train efficiently under one headquarters.
“The most memorable part of the whole operation was the wonderful cooperation of everybody in the surrounding communities,” said Lt. Col. D.C. Lamoreaux, the area construction engineer in 1942 in a local news article. “They (the community) contributed a tremendous amount to the success of the camp.”
Similarly, an article in the Aug. 28, 1942, edition of The Real McCoy newspaper also discussed the opening of the “New Camp McCoy” as it was announced by then-Camp Commander Col. George M. MacMullin.
“Huge is not the name for it,” the article states. “The camp is larger than many of the cities within the territory, and plans for training, according to Col. MacMullin, will bring in more Soldiers than there are civilians in several of the nearby communities.”
The Real McCoy article also discussed the actual construction of the cantonment area.
“Actual building and grading operations for the erection of the hundreds of buildings began March 20, 1942, although the original survey by a corps of engineers was made in July 1941. Authorization for construction was given by the War Department on Feb. 9, 1942.”
The article also states, “Each of the new buildings is of the most modern military design for comfort and welfare of the Soldiers. All are equipped with the latest of scientific appliances. The first Soldiers to move into the new area were the Camp McCoy Military Police. Hundreds of mechanics of every type and description were employed to grade and construct the hundreds of buildings, warehouses, recreation centers, chapels, and other necessary buildings. A few months ago, this new camp site was a countryside consisting of beautiful hills and valleys studded with scrub oak, jack pine, and wild grass. Today it is one of the finest military camps in the world.”
By 1944, as shown in the post cards, it was the norm at Camp McCoy and remains so today as Fort McCoy.
The post cards will join other similar post cards already on display at the Fort McCoy History Center in the installation’s historic 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 the men and women who have served the nation during each era of Fort McCoy’s history.
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: | 07.07.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2023 14:07 |
| Story ID: | 448717 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 559 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, World War II-era post cards donated to Fort McCoy; will go to History Center, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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