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.
asserted
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.
asserted
Members → create → life
They then hid the drawer inside a barracks wall, planning to retrieve it when they returned from Iraq.
asserted
they → hide → Iraq
However, after completing their deployment, the soldiers came home and moved on, leaving the time capsule untouched for nearly two decades.
asserted
soldiers → complete → decades
Contractors eventually uncovered it while renovating the Fort McCoy barracks.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
they → recall → it
That reunion never happened.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
contractors → describe → Works
The collection was subsequently handed to the installation's Public Affairs Office and reviewed for preservation.
asserted
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.
asserted
soldiers → hide → them
Instead, people working on the building years later became the first to uncover what had been left behind.
asserted
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.
asserted
discovery → report → 617th
The cap had been signed before the unit left for Iraq.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
account → list → bills
Several items also carried names and personal messages.
asserted
items → carry → names
One dollar bill was signed by Sgt. Dustin Morris with a note about missing his family, friends and dog.
asserted
bill → sign → family
Another was signed by ‘Big Mike’, a soldier and medic.
asserted
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.
asserted
who → contain → members
None of these objects was necessarily considered valuable when the soldiers placed them in the drawer.
asserted
soldiers → consider → drawer
In fact, Nein said the ball cap was not particularly special at the time.
asserted
cap → say → time
Looking back, however, the items became reminders of people with whom the soldiers had trained and served.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
617th → travel → routes
According to the US Army, the soldiers regularly faced improvised explosive devices(IEDs) and enemy fire.
uncertain
soldiers → accord → devices(IEDs
The unit suffered heavy combat exposure.
asserted
unit → suffer → exposure
Nein estimated that around half of the 183 soldiers who deployed received ‘Purple Hearts.’
asserted
who → estimate → Hearts
The company also produced multiple highly decorated soldiers, including recipients of Silver Stars and Bronze Stars with valor.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.’
asserted
which → receive → Cross
Against that background, the forgotten objects inside the barracks wall became more than souvenirs.
asserted
objects → forget → souvenirs
They preserved a small picture of the soldiers before their lives were changed by combat.
asserted
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.
asserted
they → preserve → display
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
