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· collected 2026-08-19 · by TOI World Desk
A forgotten US Army time capsule discovered in late 2022 has now finally gone on public display.
asserted
capsule → forget → display
It was left inside a Fort McCoy barracks by Kentucky National Guard soldiers before their deployment to Iraq in 2004.
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It → leave → 2004
Members of the 617th Military Police Company created the makeshift collection shortly before leaving Wisconsin for Operation Iraqi Freedom, filling a plastic drawer with personal belongings, signed items and small reminders of everyday life.
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Members → create → life
They then hid the drawer inside a barracks wall, planning to retrieve it when they returned from Iraq.
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they → hide → Iraq
However, after completing their deployment, the soldiers came home and moved on, leaving the time capsule untouched for nearly two decades.
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soldiers → complete → decades
Contractors eventually uncovered it while renovating the Fort McCoy barracks.
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Contractors → uncover → barracks
The items have since been preserved and placed on display at the Fort McCoy History Center, offering a personal glimpse into the lives of the soldiers behind the historic deployment.
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items → preserve → deployment
Why the US Army soldiers left a time capsule at Fort McCoy
In November 2004, the 617th Military Police Company of the Kentucky National Guard was finishing its mobilisation at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, before heading overseas for a year-long deployment under Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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Company → leave → Freedom
According to the US Army, the idea was simple that the soldiers expected to return to Fort McCoy after their deployment and open the capsule together.
uncertain
soldiers → accord → capsule
Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy F. Nein, who was a staff sergeant with the unit at the time, recalled that the soldiers believed they would eventually come back to it.
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they → recall → it
That reunion never happened.
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reunion → happen → ?
After returning from Iraq, the soldiers did not retrieve the capsule, and the drawer remained hidden inside the building.
Spc. Casey Cooper, gunner, 4th Platoon, 617th Military Police Company, 503rd MP Battalion.
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drawer → return → Cooper
Image Credit: US Department of Defence
Discovery by contractors nearly 20 years later
The forgotten collection remained concealed until autumn 2022, when contractors began major renovation work on about 200 barracks at Fort McCoy.
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contractors → forget → McCoy
As described by the US Army's 2026 account, the contractors found the hidden items during the renovation and carefully passed them to Fort McCoy's Directorate of Public Works.
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contractors → describe → Works
The collection was subsequently handed to the installation's Public Affairs Office and reviewed for preservation.
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collection → hand → preservation
The discovery was particularly unusual because the soldiers had deliberately hidden the objects almost two decades earlier, expecting to find them themselves.
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soldiers → hide → them
Instead, people working on the building years later became the first to uncover what had been left behind.
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what → work → building
The US Department of Defence reported in 2023 that the discovery included a white ball cap covered with signatures from members of the 617th.
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discovery → report → 617th
The cap had been signed before the unit left for Iraq.
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unit → sign → Iraq
Major Nein recognised his signature when he was contacted about the discovery, although he said he did not remember anyone actually wearing the hat.
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anyone → recognise → hat
Inside the forgotten time capsule of 617th MP Company
The collection was made up of ordinary objects that reflected the everyday lives of soldiers preparing to leave for war.
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that → forget → war
The US Army account lists dollar bills, military coins, cigarettes, snuff, two small New Testament books, the signed ball cap, a signed birthday hat, a plastic badge, sweets, a 2004 Six Flags season pass, a CD case, air freshener and shaving cream.
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account → list → bills
Several items also carried names and personal messages.
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items → carry → names
One dollar bill was signed by Sgt. Dustin Morris with a note about missing his family, friends and dog.
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bill → sign → family
Another was signed by ‘Big Mike’, a soldier and medic.
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Another → sign → Mike
The capsule also contained a pack of cigarettes with a message remembering those who had left and the sacrifices made by fellow service members.
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who → contain → members
None of these objects was necessarily considered valuable when the soldiers placed them in the drawer.
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soldiers → consider → drawer
In fact, Nein said the ball cap was not particularly special at the time.
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cap → say → time
Looking back, however, the items became reminders of people with whom the soldiers had trained and served.
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soldiers → look → whom
What happened to the 617th MP Company after leaving Fort McCoy
The seemingly casual collection took on a much deeper meaning after the unit's deployment.
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collection → happen → deployment
The 617th travelled to Baghdad and spent about a year carrying out military police patrols, convoy escorts and missions supporting major supply routes.
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617th → travel → routes
According to the US Army, the soldiers regularly faced improvised explosive devices(IEDs) and enemy fire.
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soldiers → accord → devices(IEDs
The unit suffered heavy combat exposure.
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unit → suffer → exposure
Nein estimated that around half of the 183 soldiers who deployed received ‘Purple Hearts.’
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who → estimate → Hearts
The company also produced multiple highly decorated soldiers, including recipients of Silver Stars and Bronze Stars with valor.
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company → produce → valor
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, a member of the 617th, received a Silver Star and became the first female US Army soldier since the Second World War to receive the award.
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Hester → receive → award
Nein himself received a Silver Star for his actions during a March 2005 ambush, which was later upgraded to the ‘Distinguished Service Cross.’
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which → receive → Cross
Against that background, the forgotten objects inside the barracks wall became more than souvenirs.
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objects → forget → souvenirs
They preserved a small picture of the soldiers before their lives were changed by combat.
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lives → preserve → combat
How is the time capsule being preserved today
The items are now part of the Fort McCoy History Center, where they have been placed in a permanent display.
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they → preserve → display
…and 7 more, not listed.
