WHAT IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION?
The Association was founded after the World War II by a
handful of combat veterans determined to form an alumni organization
that would carry on the traditions of the 10th Mountain Division as one
of the most unique combat forces in American military history. Its
purposes include fostering friendships among all soldiers of the 10th,
and encouraging mountain and winter warfare training within the armed
forces of the United States.
Since 1985, when the Division was reactivated as the 10th
Mountain Division (Light), we have welcomed its soldiers and veterans
as members of our Association — as we do veterans of the Vermont
National Guard's Mountain Battalion.
Today our national organization is one of the largest and
proudest veteran organizations. We have over 2500 members in 21 active
chapters throughout the United States. We have worked to preserve the
legacy of the 10th, not only by creating monuments and memorials but
also by establishing these organizations:
10th Mountain Division Foundation
Administering a scholarship program for children of the 10th veterans.
10th Mountain Resource Center
In the Denver Public Library and Colorado Historical Society, a vast
repository of veterans papers, photographs and oral histories includes
a computer database of the service histories of the 30,000 men who
served in the division in WW II.
10th Mountain Hut System
Located in the central Rocky Mountains it is a network of thirty-one
huts situated between 9,700-and 11,700-foot elevations ranging over 350
miles of open-country trails, logging roads and railroad grades.
10th Mountain Descendants
In 1987, the roots of this organization were planted, and over the
years this organization has grown steadily in numbers and diversity of
their programs. Presently their membership is over the 1000 mark.
In 1985, the Association became international in scope by
participating in the formation of the International Federation of
Mountain Soldiers (IFMS) whose objective is the quest for comradeship
and peace. Today the IFMS represents more than 450,000 mountain troop
veterans and active duty mountain troops from nine nations: Austria,
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the
United States.
The Association was incorporated in the State of Colorado as a
veterans organization. The present headquarters is in New York at PO
Box 750888, Forest Hills NY 11375-0888. A contribution is
tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, since the National
Association of the 10th Mountain Division is a 501(c)19 veterans
organization.
John J. Duffy, President
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