Western History and Genealogy

10th Mountain Division:
America’s Alpine Warriors Exhibit

July 27 – October 31, 2007

The Central Library, Western Art Gallery, Level 5

During World War II, the United States Army’s 10th Mountain Division, a legendary combat unit specializing in mountain and winter warfare, earned a unique place in Colorado’s high-country heritage while training at Camp Hale, near Leadville.

Experienced in skiing, mountaineering and cold-weather survival as well as in military tactics, the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division occupied Kiska Island in the Aleutians in 1943 and defeated German forces during the Italian Campaign of 1945.

Dubbed the "ski troops" by the press, the 10th Mountain Division remains the only military division in American history to be recruited by a civilian organization, the National Ski Patrol.

After the war, numerous 10th Mountain veterans contributed to the development of the recreational ski industry in the United States and to the growth of related fields such as outdoor equipment design and nature conservation.

Today, the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division, one of America’s largest veteran organizations, carries on the traditions of the 10th Mountain Division as one of the most unique combat forces in American military history.

The Denver Public Library, Western History/Genealogy Department in cooperation with the Colorado Historical Society established the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center, which maintains the archives of the World War II 10th Mountain Division and of the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division.

This exhibit, which features photographs, ephemera and memorabilia, coincides with the last official national reunion organized by the 10th Mountain Division’s World War II veterans.

Group of skitroopers in "whites", near Paradise, Washington [May, 1942].