DENVER — A new exhibit at History Colorado remembers the famed soldiers on skis, the U.S. Army's first winter warfare division who trained in the Rocky Mountains before being deployed to fight in Italy during World War II.
That history is drawing in members of the current 10th Mountain Division as they look back to those who came before them.
"It's pretty amazing to be here to see the history of our division. The army really prides itself on understanding where we came from and it helps us as we go forward," said Colonel Matt Braman, 10th Mountain Division Deputy Division Commander. "So, to be here where the division started, not far away here in Denver to see this exhibit that tells the full story of the division is pretty amazing."
"I think even those familiar with the 10th Mountain story will have a lot to learn here," said Dr. Chris Juergens, Head of Curatorial Services and Anschutz Curator of Military History at History Colorado.
The 10th Mountain Division was created 80 years ago as the Army's first winter warfare division with intensive training at Camp Hale near Vail, which included everything from mountaineering to combat training as they learned to fight in tough terrain. Juergens said the work was far from easy.
“Immensely difficult," Juergens said. "And it’s the very first time America had skier mountain troops, the first forays into mountain warfare. So they literally had to engineer everything from the ground up. The tactics, the doctrine, the gear, everything had to be developed from scratch basically. So they collected all the most experienced skiers and climbers they could and kind of figured out how to do it and then trained a whole division to do it for them on a large scale."
The 10th Mountain Division was later sent to fight the Nazi German Army in the mountains of Italy, their training and skill proving vital to the allied victory in Europe.
"Very critical. So the U.S. fifth Army had gotten bogged down in the mountains of Italy, they'd trained to assault Mount Belvedere three separate times in the fall of 1944 and failed each time," Juergens said. "So they really needed someone who was specially trained to take on that task. And the 10th Mountain fit that role perfectly."
"And when the war ended, that capability kind of ended as well. And so now, the current 10th Mountain Division has reinvigorated that alpine history and capability," Col. Braman said. "So we've got soldiers training around the world to do that mission today."
Eight decades after it was first formed, Col. Braman said the 10th Mountain Division now has soldiers training in Finland, Bulgaria and even Chile as they adapt the division's mission for the needs of today.
“It’s pretty neat, the innovation going on these days but it all goes back to the smart folks that really stood up the division back in the 40s,” Col. Braman said. “As we’ve looked at the future, we have transitioned from what we’ve been doing for the last 20-plus years, which is really counter-insurgency warfare into looking at the threats today. And that requires us to master large-scale combat operations, which is really what we were doing in World War II. So we’re back to the start again."
As the 10th Mountain Division looks to the future, those who are here are ready to honor those who came first and share that legacy and that bravery with the community.
"It's pretty incredible to be a part of that," Col. Braman said.
"And the fact that we can share that with them is really inspiring," Juergens said.
History Colorado is hosting a 1940s-themed opening night on Saturday, Nov. 11 as they launch the 10th Mountain Division exhibit. That opening event will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30pm and is open to the public.
The 10th Mountain Division exhibit will be in place at History Colorado for one year.
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