Responding to fellow soldier Martin
Murie’ s proposal to restore the natural (wilderness) balance
of the World War II Camp Hale military site (HCN, 3/31/03: A
citizen soldier looks beyond war), I can clearly remember two years
of great mountain military training there prior to our commitment
to the Italian theatre in 1944. I certainly approve of continuing
the small memorial to the 10th Mountain Division along the highway
adjacent to Camp Hale, but by far the most significant addition
would be a project, presumably under the supervision of the U.S.
Forest Service, in which the Eagle River drainage system and
beautiful prairie is returned to its natural state. Since World War
II, many of us have helped memorialize the Tenth through statuary
and other conventional ways. This particular project would be
fitting and appealing because the landscape ultimately preserved
would be such a rare and unique tribute.
John
Montagne
Bozeman, Montana
The author is a
former First Lieutenant of the 85th Mountain Infantry
Regiment.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The best memorial.
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