Courtesy Photo | This is a news clipping from the Jan. 24, 1985, edition of The Triad newspaper at Fort...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy, Wis., was established in 1909. Here is a look back at some installation history from December 2024 and back.
80 Years Ago — January 1945
FROM THE JAN. 6, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Plover woman to receive medal earned by son (By Newspaper Staff) — Presentation of a Silver Star Medal awarded posthumously to Pfc. Ralph J. Shudarek, 20, of Plover, Wis., will be made Monday afternoon by Col. George M. MacMullin, post commander, to the hero’s mother, Mrs. John Shudarek.
Shudarek, a member of the 142nd Infantry Regiment, died Feb. 12 in Africa of wounds he received during the battle of Italy.
He entered service March 1, 1942, and trained at Fort McClellan, Ala., before going overseas. Shudarek was a graduate of Jacobs High School in Stevens Point, Wis.
FROM THE JAN. 6, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Laundry worker informed Soldier son is killed (By Newspaper Staff) — Mrs. Emma Hoffman, civilian employee at the post laundry, has changed the star in her window from white to gold.
She had held out hope when word first arrived that her son, Sgt. Thomas Hoffman, was missing in action. But the War Department has notified her that Sgt. Hoffman was killed in action on the European Front Nov. 25.
Sgt. Hoffman, with the Signal Corps, had received a Bronze Star Medal award for gallantry in action in August. He was married and has a young son who never saw his father.
FROM THE JAN. 13, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Seven more 100th Infantry members get DSC award; win medals for action in Italian campaign (By Newspaper Staff) — Additional testimony to the heroism of the Camp McCoy-trained 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), comprised of American doughboys of Japanese descent from Hawaii, came in the announcement of awards of the Distinguished Service Cross to seven members of the famous infantry unit — one award being posthumous.
All seven awards were won in the Italian campaign. The 100th Infantry Battalion now is in action in France. The doughboy who died winning his DSC was Pfc. Kiichi Koda of Waipahu, Oahu.
On July 9, 1944, near Castenella, Italy, he and four comrades charged with fixed bayonets into a wooded area, firing from the hip as they attacked and routed a group of Germans. Later, when the enemy opened fire from a small castle, Private First Class Koda circled the structure and tossed hand grenades into each window.
He was killed by a German hand grenade, but his actions resulted in the death of 10 Germans, the capture of three, and the seizure of five enemy machine guns and four machine pistols.
Function as a team
Staff Sgt. Yukio Yokota, Pfc. Haruto Kuroda, and Private Thomas Y. Ono, all of Honolulu, functioned as a team, and each was cited for extraordinary heroism in action.
And then rifle jams…
Pfc. Kaoru Mote, of Spreckelsville, Maui, distinguished himself on July 7, 1944, by creeping to a German machine gun position and killing the gunner, then capturing the assistant gunner when the latter opened fire on him. While guarding his prisoner, he noted an enemy machine gun section moving up and forced it to withdraw by his deadly fire.
Wounded by a sniper, he held his position until relieved. Then, while going to the aid station for medical attention, he wounded two more Germans in a machine gun nest and forced the third to surrender to him.
Pfc. Robert H. Yasutake of Iahaina, Maui, on June 2, 1944, was an automatic rifleman during an attack.
Pvt. Jesse M. Hirato of Honounau, on June 5, 1944, crawled toward an enemy sniper only to discover that his rifle had jammed. He picked up a German shovel nearby and charged the German position with this weapon. Three Germans, equipped with a machine pistol, two rifles and grenades, surrendered to him.
FROM THE JAN. 20, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY: McCoy’s dental staff record ‘tops’; Col. Gebhardt discloses 331,809 teeth filled in two-year period (By Newspaper Staff) — A record believed to be one of the best in Sixth Service Command has been compiled by Camp McCoy’s dental staff under the direction of Col. Earl G. Gebhardt, post dental surgeon, a review of the work done in the last two years reveals.
In that period, Col. Gebhardt discloses a total of 331,809 teeth were filled, 11,273 dentures made for enlisted men and officers, 38,595 teeth extracted, and 695 bridges installed.
In addition the dental officers have made 219 crowns, have tended to 37 jaw fracture cases, and completed 6,878 oral prophylaxis.
Camp McCoy’s facilities for dental care include two large clinics, a smaller clinic and laboratory at the station hospital, and two small clinics in the prisoner of war compounds. The equipment is valued at close to $100,000, Col. Gebhardt announced.
At peak strength, McCoy has 55 dental officers, 62 enlisted men, and 20 civilians — the latter two groups operating as clerks, technicians, and chair assistants.
40 Years Ago — January 1985
FROM THE JAN. 10, 1985, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: New scale facility operational (By Lou Ann Mittelstaedt) — Fort McCoy’s new scale house was officially opened Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Col. Bill Sorenson, post commander, cut the ribbon and said the new project was a fine example of master planning since action for replacing the old scale house was begun in the early 1970s.
“This is one of my favorite types of projects because it will serve the installation not only in premobilization but in post-mobilization as well, especially in the loading of aircraft where weight determination is critical,” Sorenson said.
The scale house project, consisting of a new cement block building with office and restroom facilities and a Toledo scale, platform, pit and mechanism, was constructed at a cost of $86,405 and replaces an existing scale which became obsolete in relationship to the installation’s needs.
“This is an outstanding project, and I estimate it will pay for itself in two years,” Sorenson said.
The project was designed by Fort McCoy’s engineering plans and services, Directorate of Facilities Engineering, in accordance with current Wisconsin standards. Contractor for the project was R.J. Sullivan of Onalaska, and the scale installer was the La Crosse Scale Co.
The scale platform measures 70 feet long by 10 feet wide with a maximum weight capacity of 80 tons. “Any vehicle legal for road use should be able to be weighed on the new scale,” said John Ipsen of the engineering plans and services division.
One problem with the old scale was difficulty of weighing semi-trucks. Because the old scale platform was not long enough to accommodate these vehicles, they had to be weighed one axle at a time and the weights were not as accurate, he said.
FROM THE JAN. 24, 1985, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Kentucky soldiers train here (By Lou Ann Mittelstaedt) — After spending nearly three weeks in the winter environment of Fort McCoy, members of the 2nd Battalion, 31st Field Artillery, Fort Campbell, Ky., will return to their home base with new experiences and knowledge of winter skills under their belts.
“Snow Guns ‘85 (the name of the training exercise) is not a big operation, but it has been an important one,” said Maj. Thomas Costello, battalion operations officer.
A total of 370 Soldiers have participated in the exercise. “That number represents the entire battalion plus a fire-finder radar section (A Battery, 377th Field Artillery), an aviation section (A
Battery, 377th Field Artillery), a metro weather team (Headquarters Battery Division Artillery), a fire support team (1st Battalion, 321st Field Artillery) and two maintenance contact teams (584th Maintenance Company and 801st Maintenance Battalion.)
When Snow Guns ‘85 is completed, members of the unit will have had the opportunity to learn and practice winter training skills as well as practice their regular soldier skills in a different environment, Costello said.
Each of the unit’s Soldiers received 16 hours of instruction in downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and land navigation using military equipment. The Wisconsin National Guard provided four certified winter training ski instructors in support of the unit.
For many of the Soldiers, skiing was the favorite part of the exercise. “This is the first time I've had the chance to ski, and I really enjoyed it," said Spec. 4 Mark Bradish, 2-31st Field Artillery, Service Battery.
“Downhill skiing was by far my favorite thing,” said Spec. 4 Debra Lewis, 584th Maintenance Company. “I thought the instructors were really helpful. They were more than happy to help with any problems we had.”
The unit will have spent five days in the field, fired 208 rounds of 155mm ammunition, used the M-16 and M-60 machine gun ranges and the gas chamber during their time here. They have also
used the 50-caliber machine gun qualification range and vehicle recovery course facilities not available at Fort Campbell.
The terrain at Fort McCoy has also presented new challenges to the unit.
“Fort Campbell is basically flat and has poor visibility as far as observation posts go,” Costello said. “Here, the hilly terrain provides excellent visibility and observation posts.”
The unit is also honing its map reading skills. “Because the unit is so familiar with Fort Campbell, map reading wasn’t always necessary. There are no road signs here and everyone is finding that they really have to pay attention and practice their map reading skills,” Costello said.
The operation marks the first time the battalion has been deployed since it was reactivated at Fort Campbell in 1976.
30 Years Ago — January 1995
FROM THE JAN. 20, 1995, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: McCoy an ACOE finalist; Evaluators to visit Feb. 9-10 (By Newspaper Staff) — Members of an Army Communities of Excellence evaluation team will be at Fort McCoy Feb. 9-10 to review facilities
and programs at the installation.
The two-day evaluation visit is the final stage in the annual Army Communities of Excellence competition. Fort McCoy personnel were notified by Department of the Army officials in early December that the installation was selected as a finalist in the small installation category (installations with a community population fewer than 9,000) of the competition.
Fort McCoy now is eligible to compete for prize monies ranging from $110,000 to $1 million. A total of 66 active-Army communities of all sizes located throughout the world were nominated to compete at the Department of Army level.
The Army Communities of Excellence program, initiated in 1988 by the Army Chief of Staff, emphasizes people and quality by focusing on community pride and accomplishment, improvements in services and facilities, and improved working and living conditions.
During its February visit, the 10-member evaluation team will compare Fort McCoy against Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania, which is the other finalist-in the small-installation category. The winner will earn the title of “best small community in the United
States Army” and $500,000; the runner-up will receive $110,000.
All finalists also will be judged against each other for the $1 million Commander in Chief's Installation of Excellence Award, which will be presented to the top installation overall.
Army Communities of Excellence prize monies are to be spent at the facility for projects to further improve the quality of life and customer service available within the community.
FROM THE JAN. 20, 1995, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: McCoy among 7 sites
for new initiative (By Rob Schuette) — A Regional Coordinating Element (RCE) network site scheduled to open at Fort McCoy by Oct. 1, 1995, should help standardize Army courses for reserve-component soldiers in a seven-state area, said Maj. Carl Graves.
Graves, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) project officer, announced Jan. 6 that Fort McCoy will be one of seven RCEs nationwide. Other RCE sites are proposed
at Fort Devens, Mass.; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort Jackson, S.C.; Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort Sill, Okla.; and Fort Lewis, Wash.
In addition to Wisconsin, the other states served by the Fort McCoy RCE will be Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Indiana.
Each RCE will have three active-component Soldiers and six to eight Active Guard/Reserve-component Soldiers to coordinate the task of scheduling military training courses for reserve-
component soldiers and to oversee quality assurance of TRADOC courses. Graves said the RCEs will have a completely administrative function and serve as a one-stop location for reserve-component commands to schedule classes in their region or to coordinate attendance at classes in another region.
“Right now, we have a lot of duplication of courses at different locations and a lot of no-shows,” Graves said. “If we had one course at one location, it would save a lot of time and travel
and hopefully improve attendance. It also ensures everyone gets the same training and is trained to standard.”
This is very important for reserve-component Soldiers who are facing limited training time, and often are looking at unit reorganizations or position re-classifications because of downsizing, he said.
Graves said in their training time, which usually consists of two weeks annual training and inactive duty training for two days each month, reserve-component Soldiers must be or become
as competent in their military specialties as their active-duty counterparts.
20 Years Ago — January 2005
FROM THE JAN. 14, 2005, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: ACS director wins Army-level leadership award (By Rob Schuette) — The Fort McCoy Army Community Service
(ACS) director received the Sterling Performance Award for Small Army Installations during a Dec. 3 ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Becky Wapp Sawyer, who has served as the ACS director since 2000, received the fiscal year 2004 award for her work supporting Soldier and Family readiness and for continually improving the organization to meet the needs of customers.
The Sterling Performance Award is an award presented to Department of the Army (DA) personnel who have performed actions that have significant installation or Armywide impact, according to the nomination narrative. The award recognizes demonstrated excellence in leadership resulting in material improvements in areas such as mission support, military-civilian
teamwork, customer service and productivity.
Sawyer said she accepted the award on behalf of the ACS staff.
“Nobody receives an award like this without having a fantastic team behind them,” she said. “Everyone on the ACS staff will go the extra mile for the Soldiers and the families behind them.”
ACS staff members provide this support, such as continual contact with family members of deployed Soldiers who live throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota, via programs such as the Family Readiness Groups (FRG), Sawyer said.
Each unit has its own FRG. ACS provides FRG leaders with information and training material. A
computerized spreadsheet database maintained by ACS keeps track of FRGs and has helped ACS staff hook up family members with an FRG when their Soldier’s unit FRG isn’t nearby, she said.
“They may not all have Soldiers in the same unit, but the family members have the same concerns and issues,” she said.
FROM THE JAN. 28, 2005, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Natural Resources Summit helps increase awareness — A Natural Resources Summit held at Fort McCoy helped increase program awareness to show how the installation is working to manage natural and cultural resources and how it has ensured the installation meets state and federal environmental
regulations, said Mark McCarty.
McCarty, an environmental protection specialist and the team liaison for the installation’s Biological and Cultural Resources Team (BCRT) for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), said the meeting also provided an update on the installation’s natural resource and compliance programs to the Command Group. Installation Commander Col. Danny G. Nobles’ command philosophy emphasizes three pillars — environmental stewardship, being a good neighbor, and underpinning readiness of America’s armed forces.
McCarty said embracing these philosophies helps the BCRT accomplish its programs. Representatives from other installation directorates also attended to learn about the BCRT program.
“We discussed the importance of the NEPA process ( National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) within the BCRT and how it links all programs together,” McCarty said. “NEPA calls for the systematic review of environmental consequences of a proposed Army action. By integrating
NEPA at the earliest possible time in a project, (BCRT) ensures Army/Department of Defense environmental polices are implemented and delays in mission accomplishment are minimized.”
Each of the BCRT personnel had about 30 minutes to present information about their programs and to answer questions, he said. Program managers of fisheries, wildlife management, invasive species, cultural resources, and forestry, among others, spoke about their programs.
“Our programs determine impacts or effects on projects or activities that impact our wetlands, surface water and other areas,” McCarty said. “The purpose of the summit was to show how we can all work together to accomplish the mission.”
John Noble, installation fisheries biologist, said some of the assets under his program,
such as streams, for example, go beyond the installation’s boundaries.
This means Fort McCoy projects or management could affect these resources in the surrounding communities, Noble said. The installation also works closely with local, state, and federal governments to successfully manage water resources in this area.
“We look at the importance of controlling erosion and sedimentation,” Noble said. “The wise management of our resources helps sustain training and ensures we are not creating impediments to the lakes and streams.” This should translate into better water resources downstream.
Jim Kerkman, installation forester, said the management of the installation’s lands is done with an eye toward the types of training conditions the installation needs now and may need several years in the future.
About 20 years ago, troops coming to Fort McCoy often would return to the same two or three areas to hold their training. Kerkman said this would lead to the land becoming degraded.
Kim Mello, Fort McCoy wildlife biologist, said the summit gave him a chance to explain the in-depth process of managing the wildlife program and controlling invasive plant species.
“A big part of natural resources management is people management,” Mello said. “We’re doing outreach, working with volunteers and forming partnerships with people (to accomplish our goals). We’re constantly informing and educating people and answering questions.”
Members of the BCRT frequently give presentations of their programs to civic groups, students or other interested personnel, said Tim Wilder, the installation’s endangered species biologist. Wilder said the post shares its expertise with the surrounding communities to help ensure proper management of natural resources.
Bill Kasten, the acting chief for the DPTMS Mobilization and Security Division, said the summit provided him with a better appreciation of all the environmental work done to ensure high-quality training can continue.
Another facet of the summit Kasten said he found interesting was the number of historical-in-nature sites the installation has and how they are managed under the Cultural Resources program.
Stephen Wagner, Fort McCoy archaeologist (Cultural Resources) who is contracted through Colorado State University, said the meeting helped “to foster two-way communications so there aren’t any misconceptions about the program.”
John Ryder of the Directorate of Support Services (DSS) said the summit shed light on all the areas of responsibility that BCRT has. The DSS Environmental Management Division held a summit earlier in 2004.
“They (BCRT) interface with the DSS in the environmental arena for funding and directly affect the way the installation reacts to our various training missions,” Ryder said. “We have the same inherent responsibilities to protect the resources of the post and the natural environment. We cannot survive by working independently. Cooperation of the environmental and natural resources (personnel) is a must.”
10 Years Ago — January 2015
FROM THE JAN. 9, 2015, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Fort McCoy’s Transportation Motor Pool fulfills installation vehicle needs — Fort McCoy’s Transportation Motor Pool (TMP) provides non-tactical vehicle (NTV) assets for the installation. What goes into providing those assets is critical to the post’s transportation mission.
“Overall, the staff at the (TMP) does an excellent job supporting Fort McCoy’s transportation mission,” said Installation Transportation Officer David Eckland of the Logistics Readiness Center. “It’s a diverse mission that has changed in recent years yet still is critical to our success at Fort McCoy.”
With more than 300 General Services Administration-(GSA) and Army-owned vehicles under its umbrella of management, the TMP fills the transportation needs of Fort McCoy’s garrison and tenant organizations. The TMP also coordinates maintenance, licensing and accountability of those vehicles.
Motor Transportation Specialist Dan Wroblewski said the busiest time of the year is April through September.
“Our biggest duty is to make sure units here for training have the vehicles they need,” Wroblewski said. “During the busiest months, we’ll work to contract buses for units to use.
We also can augment our fl eet with GSA short-term rentals to accommodate vehicle needs.”
The TMP also trains drivers. Th e Driver Testing Office, led by Motor Transportation Specialist Dennis Diercks, trains and licenses bus drivers and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled
Vehicle operators. Bus driver training requires a 1 1/2-hour class and a written and driving exam.
“We also coordinate all defensive driver training, a requirement for drivers of all Army owned NTV and GSA vehicles,” said Diercks, who’s worked at Fort McCoy for more than 35 years. “We’re busiest with driver training during the summer.”
From May through August, TMP provides a daily airport service to the La Crosse Municipal Airport, Wroblewski said.
From September through April, the service is available on an on-call basis. “The shuttle service is intended for individual travelers,” Wrobelewski said. “It’s a service we provide that helps anyone traveling to Fort McCoy on official orders, and is an important service.”
Eckland said the TMP has an eff ect on virtually every garrison and tenant organization at the installation. If a unit has transportation needs, he said they are most likely involved in the process.
“Take, for example, the NTVs that DPTMS (Directorate of Training, Mobilization and Security) uses for taking care of the ranges,” Eckland said. “The TMP provides those trucks. Also, the vehicles, such as the panel vans the Directorate of Public Works uses to do their work, are provided by the Transportation Motor Pool.”
As vehicles are used, they must also be maintained. Motor Transportation Specialist Jim Langlois manages the maintenance tracking for all vehicles in the TMP’s fleet.
“We have to make sure the vehicles follow a regular maintenance schedule,” Langlois said. “Eff ective vehicle maintenance saves wear and tear on the vehicles and taxpayer dollars. We want to be good stewards of our resources, and, to do that means we have to take care of our vehicles. The team here does a great job in working together to care for our vehicle fleet.”
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, on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy,” on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fortmccoywi, and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@fortmccoy.
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: | 01.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.06.2025 12:49 |
| Story ID: | 488714 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 1,776 |
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