Photo By Scott Sturkol | A third barracks building from the 1600 block at Fort McCoy, Wis., is shown being...... read more read more
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Two World War II-era barracks buildings were already moved on Jan. 22 and Feb. 12-13, and now contractors are preparing a third to be moved to the same area as the first two.
An exact day for when the third one will be moved has yet to be determined, however, work to raise it and prepare it for the move continues steadily by the contractor.
Army Corps of Engineers officials and the contractor are working to complete the movement of five 80-plus-year-old buildings while the ground is still frozen.
Devooght Building Movers of Manitowoc, Wis., is the contractor doing the building moving with wheels and remote control powered by a generator. These buildings from 1942 will eventually be reset at another area of the post so new construction can begin in their current location on two new officer quarters buildings.
Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works planners have said a plan was previously worked out with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the contractor to move the five old barracks buildings to the 500 block of Fort McCoy in this move. The buildings will be temporarily set in that block until new locations are determined.
In moving the first building Jan. 22 on the installation’s cantonment area, the work took the contractors most of the day to get the building to its new location. The movement of the second building took two days to complete from Feb. 12-13. But on both movement efforts, the buildings made it to the staging area successfully.
Looking back to 1942, when the “new camp” became the center of then-Camp McCoy and these buildings were constructed, these barracks were considered "state-of-the-art facilities." On Aug. 30, 1942, during a large open house to show the public all of the new buildings in the “new camp” at McCoy, more than 50,000 people visited.
“The public came. The public saw. The public praised,” states a news article in the Sept. 14, 1942, edition of The Real McCoy newspaper at Camp McCoy. “Yes Soldiers, nearly 50,000 persons stared with pop-eyed amazement at the wonders of new Camp McCoy last Sunday when they came as guests in answer to the open house invitation of Camp Commander Col. George M. MacMullin.
“Roads, from every direction from miles around, were jammed with motor vehicles. Our visitors came in automobiles, trucks, taxicabs, and buses — an endless stream — almost bumper to bumper,” the article states. “According to Provost Marshal Capt. Hans R. Biegel, former sheriff of this county, it was the largest crowd of visitors he had ever seen. Expressions of delight at the beautiful buildings were heard on all sides. High praise was sounded at the efficient manner in which traffic was handled through the immense camp area. Not a word of dissatisfaction came from anyone. Members of the post and 732nd Military Police units acted as escorts and street guides were showered with compliments.”
Building moves will continue as conditions permit, officials said.
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: | 02.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2025 23:44 |
| Story ID: | 491628 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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