McCoy family descendants visit Army installation with their namesake

The Fort McCoy newspaper is named The Real McCoy and on July 8, eight members of the real McCoy family associated with Maj. Gen. Robert Bruce McCoy for whom Fort McCoy is named came to the installation for a special visit.

The entourage of McCoys was led by Maj. Gen. McCoy’s grandson — Alan McCoy of Sparta, Wis. Along with him were three of his daughters, a son, two son in laws, and a daughter in law.

The group visited the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area and the Fort McCoy History Center exclusively to see more about the history of the post as well as what history is available about their family. The group was hosted by Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Michael Poss and the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office.

“It’s great to have you here once again Mr. McCoy along with your family,” Poss said during the visit. “It truly is an honor.”

The Fort McCoy History Center is loaded with information about Maj. Gen. McCoy’s career that includes numerous displays, personal artifacts, and more.

Alan McCoy said he was happy he was able to visit the History Center, and more.

“It was very informative,” McCoy said. “(I) did not know that was here like it is. I knew about the outside, but I didn’t know inside the buildings and a little afternoon doesn’t do it justice. There’s so much to see, you know, and I’m really appreciative of the opportunity to come out here today.”

McCoy also talked about his family's involvement in the area around the post for so many years.

“Well, it’s all I’ve known growing up,” he said. “It started out as Camp McCoy for many years, and it’s always been in the background. And of course, my family has been military. … My dad retired as a full colonel. So … I’ve always known about the post.”

When asked about his family name being part of an Army installation name, Alan said it was “a real honor.”

“It’s great,” he said. “My grandfather was what you’d call a visionary. Not only was he a general, but he was the mayor of Sparta, he was a county judge back in his youth, and he was a baseball player.”

Most of all, McCoy said he was glad his children could see more about their family history during the visit.

“Thank you for everything shown to us today,” he said. “I’m sure the kids enjoyed it and opened their eyes (a bit).”

Fort McCoy’s official history shows Maj. Gen. McCoy’s involvement and why the installation bears his name.

“Fort McCoy is named for Robert Bruce McCoy,” the history states. “He was born Sept. 5, 1867, in Kenosha, Wis. The son of a Civil War captain, Robert B. McCoy was a prominent local resident who served as a lawyer, district attorney, county judge, and mayor of Sparta, Wis. In 1920, he was nominated as (a) candidate for governor of Wisconsin.

“Robert B. McCoy’s military career began in May 1895,” the history states. “He reached the rank of major general during his 31 years of distinguished service, which included duty in the Spanish-American War, the police action in Mexico, and in World War I.

“The idea of using the land east of Sparta as an artillery range was conceived by Robert B. McCoy. He had the foresight to recognize that future conflicts were inevitable, weapons would be improved upon, and training had to be emphasized. Upon returning from the Spanish-American War, he envisioned an artillery camp, suitable for training Soldiers, situated in the low pastures and wooded hills surrounding Sparta. He started by buying small tracts of land, which he rented for grazing to finance additional land purchases. Eventually, he acquired 4,000 acres.

“On Nov. 19, 1926, the reservation officially was designated as Camp McCoy in honor of Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy, who had died in January.” The complete history of Fort McCoy is available online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy/index.php/about/history.

After the July 8 visit, several family members said they’ll likely come back to learn even more about the history.

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 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.