Tenth Mountain Division

This outstanding book details the incredible history of the 10th Mountain Division. Formed to fill the need for elite mountain troops, this is the story of a prestigious division, from its inception through today, including formation and early training, Camp Hale, The Kiska Mission, D-Series, Camp Swift, fighting in Europe, deactivation following WWII, and reactivation of the modern light Division. It also includes special stories written by 10th Mtn. Div. veterans, over 800 veterans' biographies, over 1,500 powerful photographs, the 10th Mtn. Div. Roll of Honor, and the National Association of the 10th Mtn. Div. Roster.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Jun 1, 1998
• ISBN: 9781618587114

Book preview

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Turner®

Publishing Company

TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY

Publishers of America’s History

412 Broadway•P.O. Box 3101

Paducah, Kentucky 42002-3101

[phone]

www.turnerpublishing.com

Editor: Randy Baumgardner

Designer: Peter Zuniga

Copyright©2003 Turner Publishing Company All rights reserved Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company

This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced

without the express written consent of the publisher

and/or author.

Library of Congress Catalog No.

98-60831

9781618587114

LIMITED EDITION

This was taken close to Yugoslavian border. Bretto de Soto, Italy 1945. Co A-86th Regt. 10th Mountain Division. Some of the players as I remember. Arthur Madsen, Gary Ritsema, Harry Reinig, Robert Jardine, Harry Spies, Broom.

Previous page: Ray Garlock at Camp Hale, 1943.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

INTRODUCTION

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

THE TENTH MOUNTAIN DIVISION - WORLD WAR II...A CHRONOLOGY

PART I: THE UNITED STATES STANDS ALONE IN A WORLD AT WAR - TIME LINE: JANUARY 1940 - DECEMBER 1941

PART II: THE UNITED STATES ENTERS WORLD WAR II - TIME LINE: DECEMBER 1941 - NOVEMBER 1942

PART III: THE UNITED STATES’ ROLE IN WORLD WAR II GROWS - TIME LINE: NOVEMBER 1942 - NOVEMBER 1944

PART IV: WORLD WAR II END APPROACHES - TIME LINE: NOVEMBER 1944 - MAY 1945

CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR - TRIBUTE TO JOHN MAGRATH

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JOHN D. MAGRATH UNITED STATES ARMY

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION, INC. AND AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION, INC. ORIGIN

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION, INC.

EVOLUTION AND EDITORSHIPS OF THE BLIZZARD

TENTH MOUNTAIN DIVISION FOUNDATION, INC.

REMEMBRANCE: WAR MONUMENTS AND PEACE MEMORIALS

CREATION OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION HUT ASSOCIATION

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION RESOURCE CENTER

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION WORLD WAR II DATABASE

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION ASSOCIATION WEB SITE

FORMATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF MOUNTAIN SOLDIERS [IFMS]

TENTH MOUNTAIN DIVISION LIVING HISTORY DISPLAY GROUP, INC.

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION DESCENDANTS, INC.

IN CONCLUSION

THE ORIGINS OF THE BLIZZARD

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION ASSOCIATION WEB SITE

SPECIAL STORIES - OF STEAK DINNERS, TOILET SEATS, AND MANHOLE COVERS

THE KING CITY CAPER

MY MOST EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCE

A WEEKLY SHOWER (IF LUCKY)

D SERIES

Two MEMORABLE SKI EXPEDITIONS

EXPERIENCES OF A SKI INSTRUCTOR

A DENTAL TALE AT HALE

WATCH OUT FOR THE MULES

A BC HEADACHE

GUARDING MUSSOLINI’S PALACE

A ROOM REQUEST FOR ONE NIGHT

THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET

FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Two MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES

AN ITALIAN MEMORY–BELVEDERE

THE THINGS KIDS CAN DO

MEMORIES OF WORLD WAR II

THE COMPASSION OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS

LETTER TO HOME

WORKING TRANSPORTATION

THE BAZOOKA

THANK YOU, BOB

DEATH OF TOKLE AND TOKOLA

10TH MTN. AT BATTALION IN ITALY

A LUCKY DICE GAME

MY MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES

BOATS FOR THE PO, THE 126TH MTN. ENGINEER PLATOON

BUCK JONES OF COMPANY I

KEEP QUIET

A PROFOUND MOMENT

BEING A SOLDIER

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

REMINISCENCES OF A MULE SKINNER

RECOLLECTIONS OF MT. BELVEDERE

COMING HOME AFTER THE WAR

REVISITING RIVA RIDGE

LIFE IN THE PACK ARTILLERY

JOURNEY BACK TO ITALY

TO BOLZANO AND BACK

A MEMORIAL SERVICE

WEEP, WEEP ON...

10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION VETERANS

APPENDIX I

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

DEDICATION

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To the 999 men of the 10th Mountain Division who gave their lives in World War II for their comrades and country.

May they rest in peace and may God continue to bless our Nation.

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INTRODUCTION

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Upon its publication three years ago, the first Turner volume in this series quickly became an important new source of information on the history of the 10th Mountain Division—and about the men who served in it. The present volume continues and expands that tradition.

At the heart of Volume One is a section containing brief biographies of World War II veterans of the 10th. The present volume expands that coverage by presenting the stories of hundreds of troopers not covered in the earlier volume.

An important contribution of Volume One is a brief history of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II, written by Thomas R. Brooks. As equally important is the current presentation in this volume of our World War II history by Robert W. Macdonald’s Chronology. It is a journal of the 10th Mountain Division for the period 1940 through 1945 describing our organization from inception to deactivation after the war. Bob’s research goes beyond just the listing of events because he introduces the many men instrumental in contributing to the magniticent record of the more than 30,000 wartime troops who wore the crossed bayonet patch on their uniform. The Chronology has made a significant contribution in illuminating our history records.

The present volume also features a review by John Engle of the organizations and activities that men of the 10th built after the war. Engle’s story begins with plans made by a few far-sighted troopers on Mt. Belvedere, and ends with the organizational structure we know today—the National Association, the Foundation, the Descendants Organization, a World War II Database, and a Resource Center at the Denver Public Library.

Another key feature of Volume One is a section of Special Stories from the 10th Mountain Division. The present volume continues and expands that tradition. It contains dozens of wonderful stories from our days in training, starting with the 87th’s maneuvers at Jolon, going on to Camp Hale—with anecdotes of the Brown Palace, D Series, and ski hikes to Aspen—and including mule stories at Camp Swift. The stories of combat are told not only by troopers who served in infantry units, but by those who served in other parts of the division as well, among them the 10th Antitank Battalion, the 10th Medical Battalion, the Artillery, and 126th Mountain Engineers.

The publication of Volume II has enabled many veterans and their descendants a second opportunity to record their individual biographical sketches for posterity. We are grateful!

A truly amazing story is chronicled in this volume. But more importantly, this book provides a measure of the devotion given by volunteer veterans and families over the past 57 years.

Sempre Avanti!

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John J. Duffy, President

National Association of the 10th Mountain Division

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

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It is our special privilege to present this commemorative history of the 10th Mountain Division. The men of the 10th made history by introducing a whole new concept in warfare tactics, forged out of the need for an elite fighting unit trained to succeed in the harshest of conditions—proved through victory in Europe as one of the toughest, best-trained outfits of WW II.

The first volume in this historical series, published in 1998, contained the personal experiences of more than 800 men of the 10th. In this all new, volume II, publication, nearly 300 more veterans are featured. Together, this two volume set chronicles the personal legacies of more than 1, 100 members of the 10th Mountain Division—recorded to inspire generations for years to come.

This book was developed under the direction of John Duffy, President of the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division. We certainly could not have completed this task without his help. Other notable figures in the completion of this historical work include John Engle and Robert Macdonald, who researched and authored the first two chapters of this book. We thank you both.

And finally, our special thanks go to each member of the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division. May our Nation continue to follow in the footholds you made nearly 60 years ago.

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Todd Botroff,

President

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Dave Turner,

Founder

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1943 Rock climbing school Camp Hale in background. Herbert Schneider.

THE TENTH MOUNTAIN DIVISION

WORLD WAR II...A CHRONOLOGY

Compiled by:

Robert W. Macdonald

PART I: THE UNITED STATES STANDS ALONE IN A WORLD AT WAR

TIME LINE: JANUARY 1940 - DECEMBER 1941

By the end of the 1930s, expansionist policies of Germany, Italy, and Japan force the United States to prepare, secretly, to fight a global war.

Germany, which has regained control of the Rhineland, joins forces with Italy to support the Nationalists of Spain, annexes Austria, and takes Czechoslovakia without firing a shot.

Italy’s Mussolini has seized Libya and is intent on turning the entire Mediterranean Basin into a new Roman Empire. Italy’s war in Ethiopia leads to the collapse of the League of Nations. In 1939, Germany invades Poland, and Italy seizes Albania. The two aggressors confirm the so-called Rome-Berlin Axis Treaty of 1936.

Far to the East, Japan occupies the northern provinces of China, sends troops to IndoChina, and prepares to sweep Thailand, Malaysia, and Burma into its East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. In 1940, Japan will join Germany and Italy as the third Axis Power.

In September 1939, Britain and France reluctantly declare war on Germany after Hitler’s Blitzkrieg crushes Poland. But a lull in the fighting in Europe shortly afterwards leads to what many observers laughingly dub the Phony War. Hitler and his generals smile, too. They are busy preparing the final steps towards the Third Reich.

The German invasion of Norway in April 1940 catches the Allies off guard. The British and the French send in 25,000 troops, but do little to oust the invaders, and withdraw their forces in early June. They arrive in Europe too late to stop a Nazi Blitzkrieg in the lowlands that now extends to France. Pushed back to France, they join the hundreds of thousands of French and British troops trapped on the beaches of the English Channel near Dunkerque, hoping to escape to England. About 340,000 men are saved and ferried across the Channel. A few days later, on June 14, the Germans occupy Paris.

Meanwhile, on November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union invades tiny Finland with an army of a million men supported by naval and air forces and tanks. The vastly out-numbered Finns fight valiantly. Soldiers in white camouflage uniforms equipped with skis move quickly and quietly over deep snow where Soviet troops—unprepared for winter warfare—can’t go. The Finns ambush military convoys, cut supply lines, and destroy several Soviet divisions before surrendering in March 1940.

Americans crowd movie theaters to watch newsreels—flown in weekly from the front lines—of the Finns’ heroic skirmishes with the Soviets in what became known as the Winter War. The U.S. War Department can’t ignore the fact that hostilities have come closer—in time, at least—while the country is still in the grip of a depression and politically inclined to watch the wars in Europe and the Far East from afar. Meanwhile, wolf packs of German submarines harass the strategic Atlantic trade routes to Europe. Others stealthily land German agents along the Atlantic Coast of the United States.

THE PLANNING PHASE: WINTER AND MOUNTAIN TRAINING DEBATES

6 Jan 1940 - Louis Johnson, the American Assistant Secretary of War, asks General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, what consideration has been given to special clothing, equipment, and other essentials necessary to field an effective military force under conditions like the Winter War in Finland?

24 Jan 1940 - General Marshall replies that winter warfare has always been important to the Alaskan Command and, for several years, winter exercises have been conducted at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and elsewhere. Winter maneuvers on a larger scale are desirable, but funds are lacking.

Feb 1940 - Several prominent American skiers, including Roger Langley, President of the National Ski Association (NSA), and Charles Minot Minnie Dole, founder of the National Ski Patrol System (NSPS), meet after a busy day at Big Bromley, a famous Vermont ski resort. The men discuss the Winter War and what the United States could do in a similar situation.

Langley later writes the War Department to offer NSA’s expertise to help train the U.S. Army for winter warfare. The response is a polite Thanks for your patriotic suggestion. But the door has at least been left ajar.

Spring-Summer 1940 - Unknown to Roger Langley, Minnie Dole, and other concerned winter sportsmen and mountaineers from such credible organizations as the Sierra Club and the American Alpine Club, the War Department is secretly developing plans for an extensive winter warfare testing program the following winter.

The Command and General Staff School has the task of developing information and guidance for participating units. The chiefs of each of the arms of services will determine changes in equipment, transport, weapons, and clothing dictated by winter warfare. Reports are to be submitted by 1 September.

10 Jun 1940 - Minnie Dole, an insurance broker in New York City, is increasingly frustrated because the Army simply ignores his offers to help with winter warfare training. But Dole has the right bait: 3,000± highly trained Ski Patrolmen.

He writes the leaders of the two hundred plus Ski Patrols in his Association to ask their permission to offer to the Army Ski Patrol assistance to the Army for winter warfare. Almost all approve.

Jun 1940 - Dole now visits the Army’s II Corps Headquarters on Governor’s Island, New York, to present his case only to be told that the Army already plans to train in the south during the coming winter. He is advised to take his case to Washington.

18 Jul 1940 - Minnie Dole writes to President Franklin D. Roosevelt offering to recruit experienced skiers to assist the Army with training its troops in the event of an invasion of the United States by a foreign power. Claiming that there are two million skiers in the United States, equipped, intelligent, and able, he observes that it is more reasonable to make soldiers out of skiers than to make skiers out of soldiers. Dole then proposes that the Army establish ski training centers on both coasts to train civilian skiers to become Army instructors.

FDR responds that the matter has been referred to the War Department. Dole decides to pull as yet unused strings. He soon has an appointment in Washington with General Marshall.

10 Sep 1940 - At the meeting, Dole recalls, the Chief of Staff is cordial but brief. He assures Dole that several Army divisions will be left in the North to train during the coming winter. Then Dole has ten minutes to explain how the National Ski Patrol System and/ or the National Ski Association can help.

Before leaving, Dole presents General Marshall a copy of his own study of the pros and cons of winter warfare training. The General assures Dole that he will hear from him one way or another.

Late Sep 1940 - About two weeks later, Marshall writes to Dole, "Your excellent paper on winter training has been referred to the G-3 (Operations and Planning Office) for study.

The two officers from Marshall’s staff, Lt. Col. Nelson Walker and Lt. Col. Charles Hurdis, visit Minnie Dole in New York for a review of the situation.

The two officers are warm and receptive. Dole has time to discuss his thoughts about winter warfare training for the Army and how the Ski Patrol could help. He successfully requests financial help to upgrade his tiny office and small staff if the Ski Patrol System is to assist the Army. A War Department check for $2,500 arrives within a few days; more is promised as needed.

During the next two months, the two colonels become liaison officers between the War Department G-3 and Roger Langley’s National Ski Association—with direct access to Gen. Marshall when needed.

Oct 1940 - Brig. Gen. F. M. Andrews publishes Army plans for the purchase of winter warfare equipment. Dole has contributed by recommending the necessary equipment and supplied the names of reliable manufacturers.

5 Nov 1940 - The War Department issues a directive forming ski patrols for training purposes in several infantry divisions across the country. Most project managers and senior ski instructors are already serving in the Army, National Guard, or Army Reserves. Many later play important roles in the development of the 10th Mountain Division. Divisions and key personnel:

1st Infantry Division (Plattsburgh Barracks and Lake Placid, New York). Officer in Charge: Rolfe Monsen, several times Captain of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team.

3rd Infantry Division (Ft. Lewis, Washington). Captain Howard Crawford (Officer in Charge), Captain Paul Lafferty (former coach, University of Oregon Ski Team), and Lt. John Woodward (former Captain, University of Washington Ski Team).

5th Infantry Division (Camp McCoy, Wisconsin). Captain Albert Jackman (Officer in Charge).

6th Infantry Division (Ft. Snelling, Minnesota). Lt. John H. Hays (OIC) and Al Lindley, and Glen Stanley (NSA civilians and ski instructors.

41st Infantry Division (Ft. Lewis, Washington). Lt. John Woodward (OIC, on Temporary Duty from 3rd Infantry Division) and Karl Hinderman (ski instructor).

44th Infantry Division (Ft. Dix, New Jersey, and Old Forge, New York). Lt. Eric C. Wikner (noted Swedish cross country skier) and Harald Sorensen (former member, Norwegian Olympic Team).

The instruction varies somewhat from division to division, but the basic idea is to train a platoon-size group (40 to 50 men) elemental winter survival techniques and cross country skiing in about two months. At the end of the training, each patrol is given a rugged one-week test exercise to evaluate both skiing proficiency and survival capabilities.

The basic concept of this training exercise is that all soldiers can learn (1) basic skiing techniques and (2) survival techniques for snow and extreme cold. No student is known to have failed the final test exercise. At the end of the winter season, all the Ski Patrols are disbanded.

Late Nov 1940 - Army liaison officers Lt. Cols. Hurdis and Walker meet with NSA’s Voluntary Winter Defense Committee at LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to discuss another aspect of winter training for the U.S. Army: Clothing and Equipment. The result is the formation of a badly needed Equipment Committee under the guidance of Bestor Robinson, well-known mountaineer, skier, winter camper, and member of the Sierra Club. The chairman is to report directly to the War Department G-3 on necessary equipment and technique of ski troops. Other members are from the National Ski Association, the Sierra Club, and the American Alpine Club. (By the summer of 1941, the Committee will develop specifications for boots, tents, sleeping bags, nylon climbing ropes, clothing, etc., all quickly approved by the Army for possible production.)

5 Dec 1940 - War Department Letter AG 353, Relations with the National Ski Association, sent to the Commanding Generals of the Army divisions participating in Ski Patrol training, announces that representatives of the National Ski Association will visit the training sites to study and report on problems with equipment, clothing, and camping techniques. In addition, National Ski Patrol members are being trained to participate in civil defense exercises.

13 Dec 1940 - Intelligence reports from Europe are pushing senior War Department Generals, including General Marshall, toward creation of at least one U.S. Army mountain division, despite strong opposition by others to specialized divisions of any kind (for example, no specialized jungle warfare divisions).

Now the War Department directs a survey of camp sites suitable for training a mountain division similar to the elite mountain divisions of Germany and Italy. U.S. Army specifications for such a camp are:

located at 9,000 feet or higher;

serviced by both rail lines and highways;

located in a National Forest;

an abundant water supply; and

ample room for construction of a camp to house 15,000 men and several thousand horses and mules, plus firing ranges and maneuver areas.

1 Mar 1941 - The National Ski Association’s role as consultant to the U.S. Army is formalized by a contract.

7 Mar 1941 - Cols. Hurdis and Walker visit possible sites in Colorado for an Army training camp. They recommend Pando, a whistle stop along the Denver Rio Grande Railroad, where it runs through the broad valley of the Eagle River. The site suits almost all the growing number of Army General Staff members who support the idea of creating a mountain division in the U.S. Army. Planning now goes into high gear.

5 May 1941 - General Marshall and most of the senior War Department staff agree that a mountain division is needed as the Army is restructured. But Marshall faces a Congress opposed to U.S. entry into the war in Europe and is also opposed to giving funds for new training facilities. Marshall decides not to request funds to build an installation for training a non-existent mountain division.

At the same time, however, General Marshall orders surveys made for a mountain division training site. He also recommends the establishment of a training center at high altitude to meet the need for the trained nucleus of a future mountain division.

5 Aug 1941 - Enter Lt. General Leslie J. McNair, then Chief of Staff, General Headquarters, and long opposed to any specialized Army division unless a clear-cut need is foreseen. McNair writes in his rebuttal of a proposal for a mountain division, submitted by Lt. Col. Mark W. Clark, then G-3, General Headquarters: It is recommended that efforts for the present be directed toward the development of an infantry battalion and an artillery battalion capable of operating effectively in mountainous terrain. The debate is over!

22 Oct 1941 - Minnie Dole receives letters from Secretary of War Stimson and Gen. Marshall announcing the activation of the 1st Battalion, 87th Mountain Infantry, 15 November at Fort Lewis, Washington.

15 Nov 1941 - Activation of the 1st Battalion, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment proceeds on schedule. Lt. Col. Onslow S. Rolfe takes command. A West Point graduate (Class of 1917) and battle-hardened infantry officer, Rolfe was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for valor in action during World War I. Rolfe is also President of the Winter and Mountain Warfare Board, formed simultaneously to advise on training and equipment. Other members are Maj. Robert Tillotson, Capt. Albert Jackman, and Lt. John Jay.

Col. Rolfe seems to be a strange choice for commander of the Army’s first mountain troops. Not only is he unfamiliar with both winter warfare and mountaineering but guidance from higher Headquarters is vague. Col. Rolfe does not know whether his mission is to train specialists to be used as cadres and instructors for larger units or the preparation of a task force to be used in combat.

Nov-Dec 1941 - Col. Rolfe’s first job is to build a framework of qualified commissioned and non-commissioned officers (known to the Army as a cadre). The battalion will need several hundred qualified soldiers to fill a headquarters company, three rifle companies, and a heavy weapons company (heavy machine guns; 81 mm mortars).

The 3rd and 41stinfantry divisions, stationed at Ft. Lewis, still have some participants in the Army’s ski patrol project of 1940-41. Many volunteer to join the mountain battalion. Among them are Capts. Howard Crawford and Paul Lafferty and Lieutenant John Woodward. Also in the area are National Guard units.

Col. Rolfe has been well seasoned by twenty-five years of Army service and demonstrates considerable foresight. For example, he soon concludes that Ft. Lewis is no place to train the Army’s first mountain infantry battalion. In the fall and early winter, he visits such mountain resorts as Mt. Hood, Mt. Baker, and Mt. Rainier to see their facilities. In February 1942, he will visit the area around Pando, Colorado.

Col. Rolfe also concludes that he will need more junior officers than he is likely to get as Ski Patrol volunteers or Army transfers. He plans to send qualified volunteers to Officer Training School and then arranges to have them returned to his control after commissioning, a move that defies Army policy.

The War Department now turns to the National Ski Patrol to assist with recruiting and screening skiers to man the embryonic mountain battalion. The first such volunteer to reach Ft. Lewis is Charles McLane, recent captain of the powerful Dartmouth College Ski Team. He arrives at the Ft. Lewis gate in street clothes, carrying a suitcase, and shouldering a pair of skis, catching the gate guards and others of the garrison by surprise. That situation will change as Ski Patrol volunteers, mostly from New England, arrive in increasing numbers.

Ski Patrol volunteers with prior military service are assigned to the growing battalion upon arrival. The others are sent to nearby Army posts for basic training.

7 Dec 1941 - The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, without warning, and thrust the United States headfirst into a war for which it is far from ready. Most Americans support President Roosevelt, who declares war on Japan. America’s youths are energized and flock to Army and Navy recruiting stations as a gesture of revenge. The National Ski Patrol System is swamped with applications from would-be ski troopers.

The possibility of attacks by Japanese submarines and aircraft along the Pacific Coast throws the Army’s Western Command into a defensive mode with practice alerts and exercises that interfere with Col. Rolfe’s training at Ft. Lewis. His complaints to higher commands are rejected. His plans for winter training on Mt. Rainier, where he hopes to lease two hotels from the Forest Service, are endangered.

PART II: THE UNITED STATES ENTERS WORLD WAR II

TIME LINE: DECEMBER 1941 - NOVEMBER 1942

On December 8, 1941, the day after Japan’s stealth attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and Singapore, the United States and Great Britain declare war on Japan. In turn, Germany and Italy, Japan’s AXIS Allies, declare war on the United States.

In the Pacific, Japan exploits its military successes and seizes or neutralizes most of East Asia, from China to the Indian border, and parts of Indonesia. These bold moves add members to Japan’s self-proclaimed East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere, which really gives Japan control over all the raw materials needed to keep its growing industrial sector busy.

This scheme also requires Japan to control all sea lanes in the Pacific Ocean basin and explains why Japan soon seizes the remote Solomon Islands and New Guinea. For the same reason, the Japanese will bomb the U.S. Naval Base at Dutch Harbor in the American Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska and occupy the remote islands of Attu and Kiska in June 1942.

The U.S. Navy is already patrolling the North Atlantic from bases in Greenland in an effort to protect Allied supply lines from Hitler’s seemingly invincible submarine wolf packs. The U.S. 5th Infantry Division replaces a British force in Iceland in June 1941.

Immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, high level military officers of the U.S. and British forces meet in Washington, D.C. to coordinate their responses in the Pacific and in Europe. The result is a coordinated strategic plan that gives priority to Europe.

The plan includes a provision for landing one million U.S. troops in the British Isles to train for a cross Channel invasion of Europe in May 1943. (An assessment of the situation results in changing the date to May 1944.)

More immediate actions taken include the deployment of the U.S. 34th Infantry Battalion to Northern Ireland and the U.S. 8th Air Force to England to help win the Battle of Britain.

In June 1942, General Dwight Eisenhower arrives in London to command the European Theater of Operations. Major General Mark Clark becomes Commander of U.S. Ground Forces in Europe. In 1941, when Clark was the War Department’s G-3, he had more or less fathered the 1st Battalion, 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment. Years later, when Clark heads the 5th Army in Italy, he brings the 10th Mountain Division under his command, when no one else would take it.

In the Pacific, after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy rapidly recovers its momentum and soon engages the Japanese and supporting ground operations as needed. The degree of recovery is suggested by the U.S. Navy’s victories in two battles with the Japanese Navy —the battle of the Coral Sea and the battle of Midway. Ground operations are limited.

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Ethyl Beach at Kiska, 1943. Courtesy of James Meither.

In the air, on April 18, 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle led his Raiders on the first of many bombing raids of Tokyo and other Japanese cities using an U.S. Navy aircraft carrier as a base. He was promoted to Brigadier General and awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor. Later, he commanded the 8th Air Force in England.

The First Marine Division lands on Guadalcanal in the Solomons in August. In September, the 32nd Infantry Division (Army National Guard) joins forces with the Australians to expel Japanese forces from New Guinea. The allies win the bitter campaign, but the 32nd Division suffers 90% casualties. Also in 1942, General Joseph (Vinegar Joe) Stilwell becomes Commander of U.S. Forces campaigning in China and the jungles of Burma with supply lines reaching to India.

Far away in Europe, the Germans have lost the Battle of Britain and, in North Africa, are finding British forces more than a match for their elite Afrika Korps. On November 8, 1942, Lt. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully leads an Allied amphibious force onto Algerian beaches and, not incidentally, turns the remnants of the French Army into an Allied asset.

GROWING PANGS: A BATTALION BECOMES A REGIMENT

Jan 1942 - The 1st Battalion (Reinforced), 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, begins to take shape; and the supporting 75 mm pack artillery battalion will soon arrive. Meanwhile, training is interrupted by unceasing demands from Western Command that annoy Col. Rolfe. A persistent drizzle annoys everyone. What infantry training is practical is, however, carried out by qualified officers and non-commissioned officers.

Rolfe is anxious to start winter training, now planned for Mt. Rainier, about 62 miles distant. The men begin to gripe too. Some Ski Patrol volunteers complain that they can’t ski in the rain on bare ground. At an early meeting with his troops, Col. Rolfe tells them to forget the notion that they are going to be ski troops. We are mountain troops, he said. Skiing will play only a small part.

After long negotiations with the Park Service, Col. Rolfe succeeds in leasing two large summer hotels, Paradise Lodge and Tatoosh Lodge, to use as troop barracks for the period February through June. The two hotels are located about 5,000 feet up Mt. Rainier, where snow is twenty feet deep. Students go to ski classes through second floor windows.

Once the issue of the hotels is closed, planning for ski training goes into high gear. Thirty experienced skiers are selected as instructors by Capt. Lafferty, assisted by Peter Gabriel and Arnold Fawcus, renowned Swiss ski instructors. An effort to develop a military skiing technique leads to what is dubbed a modified Arlberg technique (using lifted stem turns) suitable for soldiers carrying heavy rucksacks and rifles.

6-9 Feb 1942 - Col. Rolfe, frustrated by the fact that the first U.S. Army mountain troops are being trained at Fort Lewis, 62 miles from the nearest suitable mountain, arranges to visit the area around Pando. Colorado, then being considered as the site of a camp and training grounds for a proposed mountain division. Well-briefed, Rolfe agrees with others who strongly recommend the site but proposes changes to existing plans. Higher headquarters concur.

13 Feb 1942 - Back at Ft. Lewis, Companies A and B, 1st Battalion, 87th, are trucked to Mt. Rainier, where they will participate in a two-month long military ski training course. Ski training is given six days a week, eight hours a day, regardless of the weather. John Jay, a key officer in the battalion, later writes, The morale is higher than the altitude; the men loved the life on skis, seldom asked for weekend passes, and formed a Glee Club of considerable fame.

At the end of the ski training program, the troops are tested by their performance during a two-mile long military ski qualification course.

Each skier carries a loaded rucksack and a rifle. Seventy-five percent of the men qualify as Military Skiers.

9 Mar 1942 - The War Department is reorganized, and the training of all ground troops in the U.S.A. becomes the mission of Army Ground Forces (AGF) under Gen. McNair.

27 Mar-Apr 21 1942 - Gen. McNair shows interest in the current status of Mountain Troops when. without advanced warning, he asks his Chief of Training for a complete report on the status of mountain warfare training. The immediate response points to the training at Ft. Lewis of one mountain infantry battalion, one 75 mm pack howitzer battalion, and a Mountain and Winter Warfare Board. This request is, however, far from routine. It leads to a week-long discussion of mountain warfare organization and training between Gen. McNair, Gen. Marshall, and their senior staff officers. Their conclusions are eye opening:

The 87th Mountain Infantry will expand at once to an over-strength of 4,000 men. When the basic regimental training at Ft. Lewis is complete, the regiment will move to Pando in Colorado.

Contracts for building a mountain training camp at the Pando site will be let in April.

The activation of a mountain division at the Pando camp is postponed until spring 1943 for financial and logisti cal reasons.

Artillery units and other combat and service units com mon to a division will be organized and trained at Camp Carson, Colorado, until the Pando camp is completed.

Mid Apr 1942 - Meanwhile, Companies A and B of the 1st Mountain Infantry return from Paradise Lodge to Ft. Lewis. There they will concentrate on infantry tactics. Companies C and D will replace them on Mt. Rainier. Ski instruction continues only until the end of May because the earlier pristine snow cover is melting away. Moreover, Company D is a heavy weapons company, and most men will receive snowshoe training because of the heavy loads involved (heavy machine guns, 81 mm mortars, and ammunition).

15 Apr 1942 - The Army’s decision to move ahead with training mountain troops finds it lacking in training aids. Now Capt. Paul Lafferty, Lt. John Woodward, and five enlisted men are sent to Sun Valley to act in training films to be made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a prominent motion picture producer, under contract to the Army’s Quartermaster.

This project is to make seven training films, all written in collaboration with Bestor Robinson, now a Major in the Quartermaster’s Winter Equipment Section. The titles are: Ski Safety, Snow Camping Above Timberline, Snow Camping in Timber, Ski First Aid, Ski Mountaineering, Ski Equipment, and The Ski Sled.

Bad weather keeps the crew working until June. Then the men go to Hollywood for interior shots. The films will be released about a year later.

13-25 May 1942 - A more venturesome project is testing equipment under extreme conditions of altitude and temperature at the summit of Mt. Rainier (14.010 feet), never before climbed at this time of year. The climbing party/testing crew—all drawn from the 1st Battalion, 87th—includes Capt. Albert Jackman, Mountain and Winter Warfare Board; Lt. Paul Townsend; Lt. John Jay, Meteorologist and Photographer; Cpl. Peter Gabriel, radio operator; Sgt. Ralph Weise, medic: Cpl. Eldon Metzger; and Pvt. Paul Estes. About fifty other men of the 87th help by carrying test items up to the base camp at 10,000 feet. The team returns safely to Paradise Lodge.

Col. Rolfe writes a personal letter of commendation to each of the participants. Capt. Jackman’s report to Washington is regarded as very valuable.

Jun 1942 - The activation of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment begins. The National Ski Patrol opens its recruiting program to mountaineers, loggers, timber cruisers, prospectors, and rugged outdoor men, in addition to skiers. The quotas are soon filled.

The volume of recruits required by the Army results in the extension of the Army’s 1941 contract with the National Ski Association. By February 1944, Dole’s Ski Patrol will have provided 8,000 men to the developing mountain troops.

In addition, a War Department directive orders the immediate transfer of qualified men already in the Army directly to the 87th Mountain Infantry at Ft. Lewis.

Despite the plan to accept only men who had completed basic training, untrained recruits are coming in so rapidly that Col. Rolfe has to set up a basic training program while providing advanced tactical and military mountaineering training to the 1st Battalion and its supporting artillery.

15 Jun 1942 - The rapid growth of mountain troops during the summer has not been planned. As the 87th Infantry grows larger, another problem arises: How will the Army test the necessary special clothing and other special equipment needed for the coming winter when the usual cold weather test sites are fully booked? The Army Quartermaster asks the American Alpine Club for advice. The reply is to conduct the tests on Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America (20,200 feet), where it is always winter!

An expedition is quickly organized. Included are representatives from the Alpine Club and the American Geographical Society and an observer from the Canadian Army, as well as members of the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster Corps. Capt. Albert Jackman and Cpl. Peter Gabriel from Ft. Lewis represent the Army Ground Forces.

The main body of the test group leaves Fairbanks, Alaska, on June 15. With the help of the Army Air Corps, the men establish three tests sites: the Base Camp, the Middle Test Site (10,000 feet), and the Upper Test Site (at 17,800 feet).

Equipment tested at the lower levels includes sleds, snowshoes, climbing ropes, stoves for heating field rations, and other accessories. At the upper level, the tests are more likely to be special clothing, sleeping bags, and tents.

The findings of the tests are written up and flown to Washington in time to be included in the Army’s equipment requirement for the next winter.

Near the end of the expedition’s stay, several members climb to the summit of Mt. McKinley. Albert Jackman is among the climbing team that reaches the summit on July 23. The expedition’s ascents of Mt. McKinley are the first since 1932.

Early Jun-Fall, 1942 - The War Department discovers an urgent need for an over-snow vehicle light enough to traverse deep snow, powerful enough to carry men and drop cargo sleds, and small enough to carry in an Army Air Corps transport plane. The Studebaker Company, manufacturer of cars and trucks, rises to the occasion and, in six months, produces an experimental vehicle that is later known as a Weasel. Field testing is essential, but it is summertime here at Ft. Lewis. The answer is to take the test vehicles into Canada, where the Columbia Icefields hold powder snow all year. No roads exist in the icefields, however, and the unlikely solution is to have the 87th Mountain Infantry build some and then stay for the field tests.

About fifty men from the 87th are rounded up and sent to Canada for several months under the command of Lt. Col. Robert Tillotson, 87th Regimental S-4. Lt. Paul Townsend, just down from Mt. Rainier, is made Executive Officer. The detail from the 87"’ stays on the icefields for several months, does a fine job against great odds, and wins the praises of Brigadier General Moses, War Department G-4, among others.

Jul 1942 - In the confusion resulting from the activation of two new mountain