The 10th Mountain Chapter, NSDAR, was named after the 10th Mountain Division, the name of the the United States Army ski troops who were stationed near where the town of Vail would eventually be developed. The 10th Mountain Division was activated on July 15, 1943, as the 10th Light Division (Alpine). The year of training at the 9,200-foot-high Camp Hale provided the skills necessary to fight and survive in the mountain terrain and winter conditions. The 10th Mountain Division started to arrive in Italy in late December 1944 and entered combat on January 8, 1945, and after many attacks the German resistance in Italy ended. The Germans in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945. The division was deactivated on November 30, 1945. Vail and the 10th Mountain Division have always had a very special relationship, since the founders of the Vail Ski Area were all veterans of the 10th Mountain Division. There is a large statue of a 10th Mountain Division soldier in the center of our small town and much of our history ties the 10th Mountain Division to Vail. We are very proud that, with our chapter name, we can honor the founders of our town and ski area and recognize the connection of our town to World War II and the military. We are proud that a few remaining 10th Mountain Division veterans live in town and we honor them.
We organized on November 11, 2017 (Veterans Day), to have a yearly reminder of our support for our veterans. Our chapter is very proud to be a DAR Lantern Chapter, which designates any chapter formed by transferring an organizing regent and five or more members from an existing DAR chapter. We had 30 organizing members in 2017 and are ending 2023 with 68 members.
Our chapter’s Challenge Coin highlights our 10th Mountain Division Patriots; Wendy Kidder Becker, our organizing regent; and the NSDAR’s missions: Patriotism, Education and Historic Preservation.
Our members are diverse. Some are from the Vail Valley, others have relocated to the area and others are only here seasonally. Members bring perspectives from many regions in the country. This broadens our chapter view and inspires new ways to connect with our community and each other. Our members possess a wide variety of professional expertise–some retired, many currently in the workforce, all willing to contribute to the furtherance of DAR.