Eighty years ago, on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day during World War II, a 4-page special edition of The Real McCoy newspaper was passed around then Camp McCoy highlighting the start of the Normandy invasion in France — “EXTRA!! … ON TO PARIS CRY YANKS! … 4,000 ships, 11,000 planes in drive” decreed the top headline of the paper.
That same lead article went on to describe more of what was going on in France.
“‘They can’t stop us’ and ‘on to Paris’ were the battle cries of American, British, and Canadian forces which landed on the Northern French coast early this morning as the greatest military operation of all time got under way under the command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
“Over four Allied airborne divisions were already disrupting Nazi communications behind the lines and were credited with having captured several Nazi airdromes and were reported to have cut the Paris railroad. The Yanks were reported less than 50 miles from the French capital. German radio commentators admitted deep inroads by Allied forces in the 100-mile sector between Cherbourg and Le Havre on the Normandy peninsula.”
By June 1944, Camp McCoy had been steadily training Soldiers to fight in World War II. Soldiers had trained in winter training environments as well as in a myriad of other types of training. Tens of thousands of Soldiers had been through McCoy and some were part of the invasion according to another article in that June 6, 1944, edition of The Real McCoy.
In an article entitled, “McCoy trained Soldiers fighting in France,” it described some of them.
“Men trained for battle at Camp McCoy are playing a prominent role in the invasion, it was believed here by camp officials,” the article states.
“Former members of the 76th Infantry Division who formed cadres for units now serving overseas, infantrymen trained here during the last two years, and engineer, ordnance, quartermaster, artillery, and motor maintenance outfits are all playing important roles overseas.”
Also mentioned in the article was the 100th Infantry Battalion — the most decorated battalion of World War II whose members trained at McCoy in 1943 before going overseas.
“Japanese-American troops of the 100th Infantry who trained here soon after the outbreak of the war were last reported in Italy. These men gained glory for themselves in the battle of Salerno.”
The article also mentioned others.
“Officers who trained troops here and helped give Camp McCoy its reputation as one of the greatest infantry training centers in the nation have long since been overseas and are pitting their fighting talents against the enemy.”
One Soldier who was at Camp McCoy at the time was then-2nd Lt. Harry Baker. During World War II, he was an artillery officer with Battery C, 302nd Field Artillery Battalion, 76th Infantry Division.
Baker would later deploy with his unit in November 1944 and would go on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. He wrote in a memoir entitled “Reminiscence” in 2000 at the age of 80 what he remembered about what happened on D-Day at Camp McCoy. He said “everything seemed to change that day.”
“The tiring training and repetition now proved to require even more acceleration,” he wrote. “Heightened security at post, stringent pass and leave orders, and orders from Washington came quickly to prepare for port of embarkation, preparation, and plans. My dear wife (Pat) arrived shortly after, having graduated from Michigan State, and I left the barracks finding quarters for us not in Sparta as I had planned, but farther away in a town called West Salem.”
From June to November 1944, Baker’s unit and the rest of the 76th Infantry Division that was at Camp McCoy continued to prepare for deployment, and by before Christmas 1944 they had all made it to Europe.
In the D-Day edition of The Real McCoy, leaders at Camp McCoy also shared their thoughts about the invasion. Among them was Camp Commander Col. George MacMullin.
“May God be with them,” MacMullin said. “The prayers of all of us are with those brave men. Although our hearts are overjoyed at the successful operations to date, we must not relax in the assumption that this war is about ended. We have bitter fighting ahead of us. All of us here must redouble our efforts to back those brave and heroic Soldiers with our hearts — with our minds — and with our strength. Surely with this united effort, and our cause being just, victory will be ours.”
Lt. Col. Harry R. Brown, post executive officer on June 6, 1944, also offered words of encouragement.
“McCoy trained men are undoubtedly in the new European front,” Brown said. “You can count on their giving a first-class account of themselves.”
Col. David L. Robeson, post surgeon on June 6, 1944, said in the special edition as well that he was “thrilled” when he heard the news at breakfast.
“It’s the development of a plan which has been carefully set. I’m very much in hopes, of course, there won’t be too many casualties.”
And Maj. John F. McCoy, the post adjutant during D-Day, said, “The suspense is over, and I’m sure there’s a good chance of success. Plans are well laid, and I firmly believe in its ultimate chance of succeeding.”
As history shows, the D-Day invasion was a success and turned the tide of the war. Even 80 years later, it’s obvious McCoy and the work that was done at the installation also played a big part of that success in the preparation and training of troops leading up to the invasion.
In the decades that have followed D-Day and World War II, Camp McCoy and then later Fort McCoy would be the “Total Force Training Center” it is today and supported training for troops from the Korean War to Operation Desert Storm to the Global War on Terrorism to today’s overseas contingency operations.
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