Description

Camp McCoy was named in honor of the late Major General Robert Bruce McCoy of the Wisconsin National Guard, who commanded the 128th Infantry of the 32nd Division in World War I. General McCoy was a resident of Sparta, Wisconsin. The Army points to Camp McCoy as the last word in training camps. Since its opening in August, 1942, Camp McCoy has gained fame as one of the outstanding combat training centers in the country. All the experience and practice the Army accumulated in building hundreds of training sites across the nation in the months before Pearl Harbor were combined and brought to full flower in the construction of Camp McCoy. The new camp (as differentiated from old Camp McCoy, now or prisoner of war camp) covers 61,000 acres of rugged terrain. Its facilities have been used to train infantry, artillery, engineer, ordnance, tank and tank destroyer, military police, anti-aircraft, and medical units. Two of the most famous units to train at McCoy were the 2nd and 76th Infantry divisions which gained glory in the battle against the Germans. Hundreds of barracks, 12 chapels, 6 theaters, 15 post exchanges, 13 recreation halls, 2 service clubs, 2 guest houses, dozens of office buildings and blocks of warehouses and shops make the camp one of the nation’s largest.