Group portrait of sixteen U.S. 10th Mountain Division skitroopers posed in a line on skis in the Colorado mountains, 1943 or 1944. None identified. At first, the division was not granted any special insignia, nor could troops wear ski clothing off-post. Some men who displayed on their service dress crossed-ski pins that they had bought at jewelry stores were given a week of work details for the infraction. The division’s morale fell further with news of the fighting in Italy; they questioned why they were not there, and whether they would ever be deployed. For three weeks in March and April 1944 the division undertook a grueling sub-zero exercise in the mountains of the 12,000ft California Coast Range. The D-Series Maneuvers pushed them to the limits of their endurance, exposing deficiencies in personnel, equipment, and organization. Training and cold-weather injuries were modest owing to the troops’ excellent condition, but it was still a brutal experience for the participants.
Source :
Book "US 10th Mountain Division in World War II" by Gordon L. Rottman and Peter Dennis
http://amyatishkin.livejournal.com/287245.html
No comments:
Post a Comment