Courtesy Photo | University of Wisconsin-Madison mascot Bucky Badger and Fort McCoy (Wis.) Garrison...... read more read more
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The University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison ROTC “Badger” Battalion held its Alumni Tailgate and Hall of Fame induction Sept. 7 at the university campus not far from Camp Randall Stadium and among the inductees to the Badger Battalion Heritage Alumni Hall of Fame was Maj. Gen. Robert Bruce McCoy.
McCoy is the namesake for Fort McCoy, formerly named Camp McCoy. Maj. Gen. McCoy has ties to UW-Madison and so for the 2024 hall of fame induction it was decided to honor the Spanish-American War and World War I veteran.
Maj. Michael Centola, associate professor of military science with UW-Madison’s ROTC, led the effort to recognize McCoy. He explained how it came to fruition.
“We hold a hall of fame induction and alumni event roughly every two years — this was the third event since 2019,” Centola said. “Leading up to the event, we solicit nominations for individuals who have either had an impact on the ROTC program, are distinguished alumni from the ROTC program, or distinguished military individuals with University of Wisconsin-Madison ties.
“Maj. Gen. McCoy’s name was brought up during the nomination process as a possible posthumous inductee,” Centola said. “Based on his extensive military experience, his ties to UW-Madison as a student and his participation in the precursor to ROTC (the mandatory military drills all male students had to participate in at Morrill Land Grant Universities), along with the years of support Fort McCoy has provided UW-Madison cadets, it was agreed it would be a fitting honor to induct him.”
Centola said the 2024 induction was smaller than the previous event in 2022 with 60 attendees. Among them were Fort McCoy Deputy Garrison Commander Lt. Col. Mike Corkum. He said it was a memorable experience.
“I was accepting Maj. Gen. McCoy’s induction plaque on behalf of the garrison and Maj. Gen. McCoy,” Corkum said. “What I enjoyed about Camp Randall, besides good football, was its connection to military history and the Civil War. I had to opportunity to visit Gettysburg this summer as part of my War College requirements and got a great firsthand account of the Iron Brigade and their actions during the battle. It was really cool to see where the Wisconsin Soldiers trained at Camp Randall.”
Corkum also said it’s important to recognize and support partners in Wisconsin’s military community by attending events of this importance.
“I think the best part is the ability to continue to show how U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy supports our military community in the state,” Corkum said. “UW-Madison is one of several ROTC programs who use our facilities to train future Army leaders, so it’s great to be able to get out there and interact with the cadets and see what their programs are doing and the great leaders who started their careers at UW-Madison.”
Centola said the event went was successful in honoring McCoy and their other significant alumni.
“The event went well,” Centola said. “We hosted alumni and cadets at the ROTC building for a tailgate event. The Wisconsin National Guard supported the event with some games (a football toss and an axe throw game). The Marine Corps League provided the food for the event. Once Bucky Badger arrived at noon, we started the induction portion of the event honoring Col. Mike Hiller, retired Lt. Col. John McDaniel, and Maj. Gen. McCoy.
“Once the formal part of the event ended, we continued with the tailgate,” Centola said. “We have a strong relationship with the athletics department and the Veteran’s Affairs Office and 50 tickets to the football game were donated for cadets, veterans, and their families attending our event to then go to the football game afterwards.”
Robert Bruce McCoy, Fort McCoy’s namesake, was born in Kenosha, Wis., Sept. 5, 1867. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Lafayette Township, Monroe County, where his father, Bruce Elisha McCoy, engaged in milling, the installation’s history states.
In 1876, a spring flood swept away the mill property, and the family moved to Sparta to resume the milling business. “Bob,” as he generally was known, graduated from Sparta High School in 1887 and distinguished himself there as being a leader in school activities, most notably athletics.
He entered the University of Wisconsin, College of Letters and Science, after high school graduation and made the varsity baseball team in his first year. In 1890 he played semi-professional baseball at Ashland, Wis., and later returned to the University and became captain of the varsity baseball team. McCoy graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1891.
McCoy was the epitome of the Citizen-Soldier, the history states.
“His military career spanned 31 years and included service in the Spanish American War, the punitive action in Mexico, and World War I. Among his awards for valor was the Distinguished Service Medal and the French Croix de Guerre,” the history states. “He was instrumental in forming the 32nd Division Association and became its first president. On Dec. 20, 1920, he was commissioned brigadier general, commanding the 64th Infantry Brigade, Wisconsin National Guard.”
In 1924, McCoy was promoted to major general and commanded the 32nd Infantry Division (the Red Arrow Division), Wisconsin and Michigan National Guard.
Robert Bruce McCoy died Jan. 5, 1926, from pernicious anemia. In November of that year, today’s Fort McCoy (then-Camp McCoy) was renamed in his honor.
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 Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2024 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 480585 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 657 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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