SOLDIERS ON SKIS: A PICTORIAL MEMOIR OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION

There never was a division quite like the 10th Mountain Division. It included some of the world’s finest skiers, athletes, and mountaineers, one of whom was former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, whose Foreword includes: “We were all part of the 10th’s rugged assignment to crack the Nazi’s final and formidable defensive line. If we could break through, our commanders told us, it would hasten the collapse of the German army in Italy and also help drive one of the final nails into the coffin of Hitler’s self-proclaimed ‘Thousand-Year Reich.’” Operation Craftsman began on April 14, 1945, in Italy’s rugged mountains. For the 10th Mountain Division, which never gave an inch of territory in their many battles, it was their costliest day.