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.
Mike Plummer, President
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