In 2004, US soldiers hid a time capsule inside a barracks wall before deploying to Iraq and 19 years later contractors found it during renovations | World News
A forgotten US Army time capsule discovered in late 2022 has now finally gone on public display. It was left inside a Fort McCoy barracks by Kentucky National Guard soldiers before their deployment to Iraq in 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. They then hid the drawer inside a barracks wall, planning to retrieve it when they returned from Iraq. However, after completing their deployment, the soldiers came home and moved on, leaving the time capsule untouched for nearly two decades. Contractors eventually uncovered it while renovating the Fort McCoy 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.
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. 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. 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. That reunion never happened. 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. 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. 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. The collection was subsequently handed to the installation’s Public Affairs Office and reviewed for preservation.The discovery was particularly unusual because the soldiers had deliberately hidden the objects almost two decades earlier, expecting to find them themselves. Instead, people working on the building years later became the first to uncover what had been left behind. The US Department of Defence reported in 2023 that the discovery included a white ball cap covered with signatures from members of the 617th. The cap had been signed before the unit left for 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.
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. 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. Several items also carried names and personal messages. One dollar bill was signed by Sgt. Dustin Morris with a note about missing his family, friends and dog. Another was signed by ‘Big Mike’, a soldier and medic. The capsule also contained a pack of cigarettes with a message remembering those who had left and the sacrifices made by fellow service members. None of these objects was necessarily considered valuable when the soldiers placed them in the drawer. In fact, Nein said the ball cap was not particularly special at the time. Looking back, however, the items became reminders of people with whom the soldiers had trained and served.
A signed ball cap, by the Kentucky National Guard’s 617th Military Police Company. Image Credit: Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office
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. The 617th travelled to Baghdad and spent about a year carrying out military police patrols, convoy escorts and missions supporting major supply routes. According to the US Army, the soldiers regularly faced improvised explosive devices(IEDs) and enemy fire. The unit suffered heavy combat exposure. Nein estimated that around half of the 183 soldiers who deployed received ‘Purple Hearts.’ The company also produced multiple highly decorated soldiers, including recipients of Silver Stars and Bronze Stars with 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. Nein himself received a Silver Star for his actions during a March 2005 ambush, which was later upgraded to the ‘Distinguished Service Cross.’ Against that background, the forgotten objects inside the barracks wall became more than souvenirs. They preserved a small picture of the soldiers before their lives were changed by 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. The US Army reported in May 2026 that the exhibit includes the signed ball cap, military newspapers, photographs and other memorabilia connected to the unit’s mobilisation. Fort McCoy officials said the objects provide a direct connection to the experiences, emotions and camaraderie of soldiers who trained there before deploying to Iraq. The Kentucky National Guard has similarly highlighted the display, with photographs showing the full collection at the History Center in April 2026. The display gives visitors an opportunity to see the personal side of a major military operation through objects that once belonged to individual soldiers.The discovery also adds another chapter to Fort McCoy’s history as a major training and mobilisation centre. For the soldiers who placed the drawer inside that barracks wall in 2004, it was probably little more than something to laugh about when they returned. Nearly 20 years later, the forgotten time capsule has instead become a piece of history, preserving not only what the 617th Military Police Company carried with them, but also who they were before they left for Iraq.