"The Boys of Winter"

My father was in the 10th starting with their Camp Hale Colorado days and through their tour in Italy. He's told me a few stories so here's an attempt to type one out for internet posterity, as best as I can remember it: <br><br>So they're in Italy and the fighting has been fairly heavy the past few days. The weather has also been cold and rainy, overall pretty grim. The grunts get fed about once a day if they're lucky and the scene is a chow line not too far from the front line. All these GI's are standing patiently in line as some slop or gruel is dished out. It's raining so hard you can't see that well and everyone is wearing a poncho. Now the ponchos the Americans wore were just these plain green ones, while the German ponchos had this motled green camaflogue pattern. So while they're standing in line people gradually notice someone is wearing one of these motled ponchos. They take a closer look; the helmet, the little bit of uniform showing - yep it's a real German. The German guy is just standing in line waiting to be fed like nothing's going on. Gradually more and more of the people standing in line are noticing, smirking and telling jokes, but nobody is doing anything about it. Some discussion is had but nobody's taking the initiative. <br><br>Finally this gung ho captain takes charge, and in what my father described as one ofthe most senseless acts of violence of the war tackles the German, who offers absolutely no resistance, and pins him to the sole effect that now both the captain and the German are completely covered in mud. After the commotion has died down they ask my father, who is originally German as a child and frequently the translator in these situations, to "talk to that Kraut and find out what the hell he was doing in our chow line!" So by now the German is sitting with his head in his hands looking pretty dazed and confused. My father figures the guy is pretty shell shocked and makes small talk. The German says he was lost in the woods and hadn't eaten for a few days. My father tries to calm him and tell him how the war is over. The conversation leads him to believe the German is only just beginning to realize he is on the wrong side of the line and had stumbled into an American camp.

Cool post Randonee -- you may remember the couple you met in snowmobile country a few weeks ago. Gave us a ride part way up the hill. Thats me, Scott. So, just wanted to say that I dated Cliff Taylor's daughter in CO when I lived out there in '00. Cliff is credited with introducing the graduated length method of teaching skiing. And he was a 10th Mtn division man -- was inducted into the Ski Hall of Fame a short time later. He saw some action in Italy as well. He talked about artillery duals with the Germans. Apparently much of his time was spent being a forward observer high in the Alps. Hats off to Cliff, dont know how he's doing these days, but none of the 10th mtn guys are getting any younger.<br><br>

Hey, Scott. PM me when you are in the area again. Not far from where we skied there was a natural point-release avalanche yesterday from several hundred feet above the road that put about 3 ft. of debris on the road.<br><br>Interesting to hear about Cliff.<br><br>It is great to hear about gregm's dad in the 10th. What a story! You must appreciate your dad, as I appreciate my dad who was a WWII Guadalcanal Marine.

I was privileged to have lunch with two "boys of winter" yesterday at the Seattle Golf Club. Duke Watson (left) and John Woodward (right) were important sources for Charles Sanders' book. (The amazon.com page for "The Boys of Winter" can be found here .)



John wrote the Foreword for the book and took the dust jacket photo. Duke was a good friend of Ralph Bromaghin. I profiled Duke in the latest Northwest Mountaineering Journal:

www.mountaineers.org/NWMJ/06/061_Watson1.html

I believe that John is now 91 and Duke's 91st birthday is next month. Sadly, I saw in the paper that Harriet Clough Waldron, a good friend of Ralph Bromaghin before the war, passed away on August 28 at age 87. She was one of the original Ptarmigan Climbing Club members, the sister of Ray and Ralph Clough.

Here's to the Greatest Generation!

Seattle Public Library has a copy of "The Boys of Winter".  As above, a good read.