by The Spectator Features Editors
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, the College sent out the following press release:
Maurice Isserman, Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of History at Hamilton College, will be offering an illustrated talk and signing copies of his just-published book,
The Winter Army: The 10th Mountain Division in World War II
, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 4:15 p.m., in Hamilton College’s Burke Library. The event is free and open to the public.
At this event, an exhibit of World War II artifacts associated with the 10th Mountain Division, will be unveiled. The exhibit commemorates the memory of the late Donald Potter, emeritus professor of geology at Hamilton College and 10th Mountain veteran. Located in the library lobby, the exhibition will be on display from Nov. 6 to the end of February.
The 10th Mountain Division was formed days before the United States entered World War II in 1941. A volunteer unit, men who in civilian life were already proficient in skiing, mountaineering, and other outdoor skills filled its ranks. Shipped to the Italian front at the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1945, the 10th led the Allied offensive that broke through the last German defensive lines in the Northern Apennine Mountains. In the winter and spring of 1945, the 10th drove on to the Alps, forcing the German surrender in Italy on May 2.
After the war, thousands of veterans of the 10th played a leading role in the expansion of the U.S. ski industry. The division was disbanded in late 1945, but reestablished in the 1980s, and is based today at Fort Drum, in Watertown, New York. Some of the artifacts on display were loaned to the library’s Special Collections office by the 10th Mountain museum at Fort Drum.
The Winter Army: The 10th Mountain Division in World War
joins Professor Issermman’s impressive list of award-winning works. A former Fulbright grant-winner, he has won prizes for his books
The Other American: The Life of Michael Harrington
, and
Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes.
