IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1217 
Honoring Fort Drum’s soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division for their 
past and continuing contributions to the security of the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 24, 2010 
Mr. OWENS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring Fort Drum’s soldiers of the 10th Mountain Divi-
sion for their past and continuing contributions to the 
security of the United States. 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division was first activated as 
the 10th Light Division (Alpine) on July 13, 1943, at 
Camp Hale, Colorado; 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division began a rigorous train-
ing regimen designed to prepare for the imminent inva-
sion of Axis-controlled Europe; 
Whereas, on January 7, 1944, the 10th Mountain Division 
patch was authorized, featuring a blue background with 
two red-crossed bayonets forming the Roman numeral for 
10, emblazoned over a powder keg representing the Divi-
sion’s explosive power; 
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•HRES 1217 IH 
Whereas, in November 1944, the 10th Division was redesig-
nated the 10th Mountain Division and soldiers were first 
authorized to wear the blue and white ‘‘Mountain’’ tab; 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division first entered combat on 
January 1945, being deployed to the North Apennine 
Mountains in Italy opposite battle-hardened German 
mountain troops; 
Whereas soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division assaulted the 
German lines along the Monte Belvedere-Monte della 
Torraccia Ridge in a series of stunning attacks that 
broke the German Apennine front; 
Whereas, on April 14, 1945, the 10th Mountain Division 
served as the vanguard of the Fifth Army’s drive to the 
Po Valley, suffering tremendous casualties in a hail of ar-
tillery, mortar, and small arms fire from German troops; 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division continued its relentless 
drive to liberate Italy, culminating in the Division’s occu-
pation of Lake Garda and preventing the escape of Ger-
man troops to the north through the Brenner Pass; 
Whereas, after 114 days of combat, the 10th Mountain Divi-
sion destroyed 5 German divisions, suffered 992 
casualities and 4,154 wounded, and saw one of its sol-
diers, Private First Class John D. Magrath posthumously 
awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; 
Whereas, on November 30, 1945, the 10th Mountain Division 
was temporarily disbanded; 
Whereas, on July 1, 1948, the 10th Mountain Division was 
reactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas, as a training division, 
preparing 123,000 soldiers for Cold War service and 
combat in the Korean Peninsula; 
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•HRES 1217 IH 
Whereas, between 1954 and 1958, the 10th Mountain Divi-
sion was redesignated a combat infantry division and de-
ployed to West Germany, protecting strategic North At-
lantic Treaty Organization (NATO) points against pos-
sible Soviet aggression; 
Whereas, on June 14, 1958, the 10th Mountain Division was 
again temporarily inactivated; 
Whereas, on February 13, 1985, the 10th Mountain Division 
(Light Infantry) was activated in the heart of the North 
Country on Fort Drum, New York; 
Whereas, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 
10th Mountain Division soldiers contributed support per-
sonnel to the 24th Infantry Division in Iraq; 
Whereas, in December 1992, 10th Mountain Division soldiers 
deployed to Somalia in support of Operation Restore 
Hope, bringing much-needed security to relief operations; 
Whereas, on May 4, 1993, 10th Mountain Division soldiers 
began supporting Operation Continue Hope under the di-
rection of the United Nations Operations in Somalia 
(UNOSOM II); 
Whereas, on October 3, 1993, and October 4, 1993, 10th 
Mountain Division soldiers of the 2–14th Infantry fought 
a brutal gun battle through Mogadishu to secure an evac-
uation route for Rangers surrounded in the city; 
Whereas, with 6 hours of continuous fighting, this was the 
longest sustained combat since the end of the Vietnam 
War; 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division spearheaded Operation 
Uphold Democracy in Haiti from September 19, 1994, to 
January 15, 1995, conducting the United States Army’s 
first carrier-based air assault; 
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•HRES 1217 IH 
Whereas, following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the 
United States, units of the 10th Mountain Division first 
deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 
late 2001, fighting to secure remote elements of Afghani-
stan against Taliban forces; 
Whereas, in 2003, the 10th Mountain Division headquarters 
and 1st Brigade returned to Afghanistan to battle insur-
gents in remote areas of the country and provide humani-
tarian assistance; 
Whereas, from May to December 2003, the 2nd Brigade, 
10th Mountain Division headquarters, and 4–31 Infantry 
deployed to Afghanistan in support of Task Force Phoe-
nix and training for the Afghan National Army; 
Whereas, in July 2004, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team de-
ployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, se-
curing the areas west of Baghdad and enduring more 
enemy contacts and casualties than any other unit in 
Iraq at the time; 
Whereas the 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in 
late 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, bring-
ing security to embattled areas in and around Baghdad; 
Whereas the 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in 
August of 2006, moving in to an area referred to as the 
‘‘Triangle of Death’’, vastly improving security and en-
during a grueling 15-month deployment; 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division headquarters and 3rd 
Brigade Combat Team deployed again to Afghanistan in 
2006, serving in the eastern Afghanistan-Pakistan border 
region; 
Whereas the 1st Brigade Combat Team returned to Iraq in 
2007, conducting stability and security operations in 
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•HRES 1217 IH 
Kirkuk and training the Sons of Iraq to protect their 
neighborhoods from insurgent violence; 
Whereas, in April 2008, the 10th Mountain Division head-
quarters and 4th Brigade Combat Team deployed to 
Baghdad, coordinating and fighting large-scale operations 
such as Operation Phantom Phoenix; 
Whereas, in January 2009, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team 
deployed to the Logar and Wardak provinces in Afghani-
stan, guarding the southern approaches to Kabul and 
bringing much-needed security to both provinces; 
Whereas the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division continue 
to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, with their families sup-
porting them through arduous deployments; and 
Whereas the 10th Mountain Division is known as the most 
deployed division in the United States Army: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the achievements of the soldiers 
serving in the 10th Mountain Division, as well as 
citizen-soldiers of the Army Reserve and National 
Guard who have fought with the 10th Mountain Di-
vision during its 60-year history; 
(2) expresses its gratitude to the family mem-
bers of the 10th Mountain Division for their tireless 
service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States; 
(3) commends the North Country community 
for their unwavering support of Fort Drum and the 
men and women serving in uniform; and 
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•HRES 1217 IH 
(4) offers its heartfelt condolences to the family 
and friends of the 10th Mountain Division soldiers 
who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the defense 
of the United States. 
Æ 
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