Camp Hale
Camp Hale Site | |
Location | Eagle County, Colorado, U.S. |
---|---|
Nearest city | Red Cliff, Colorado |
Coordinates | 39°26′35″N 106°19′22″W / 39.4430°N 106.3228°W |
Built | 1942 |
Architect | U.S. Army |
NRHP reference No. | 78003522[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 10, 1992 |
Camp Hale was a
Soldiers were trained in
, cold-weather survival, and various weapons and ordnance. When it was in full operation, approximately 15,000 soldiers were housed there.The creation of an elite ski corps was a national effort, with assistance from the National Association of Ski Patrol, local ski clubs, and Hollywood. Enough men were recruited to create three army regiments, which were deployed after training. Camp Hale was decommissioned in November 1945.
On October 12, 2022, President Joe Biden designated Camp Hale and a noncontiguous nearby part of the Tenmile Range as Camp Hale—Continental Divide National Monument.[3][4][5] It comprises 53,804 acres (84 sq mi; 218 km2), which will be managed by the White River National Forest unit of the U.S. Forest Service. Conversion of the site to a monument will not affect any permits held by the neighboring ski resorts and the monument will continue to support a wide range of motorized and non-motorized recreation opportunities.[6][7]
World War II
Construction
The armed ski corps in the U.S. was based on the ski warfare tactics of the Finnish Army during the Winter War (1939–1940). Early in the effort, 8,000 skiers and outdoorsmen were recruited.[8] The camp was built to accommodate the effort at a cost of $30 million.[9]
The
The camp included mess halls, infirmaries, a ski shop, administrative offices, a movie theater, and stables for livestock.[11] White painted barracks for 15,000 soldiers were built straight lines on the mountain meadow, but when the first trainees of the 87th Regiment of the 10th Light Division, quickly renamed the 10th Mountain Division, arrived in the winter of 1942 only a small portion of barracks were filled. The War Department needed to train more skiers in the elite fighting ski corps and asked the American Ski Patrol Association to contact ski racing clubs, ski schools, and local patrol units, nationwide—each applicant had to supply three letters of recommendation.[9]
Recruitment
After 1942 problems in communication caused by the war slowed the recruitment effort. However, that year,
Training
By 1943, Camp Hale had as many as 14,000 men in training.
Military use of Camp Hale included the 10th Mountain Division, commanded by
Camp Hale was active for just three years; it was deactivated in November 1945 and the 10th Mountain Division moved to Texas.[17]
Prisoner of war camp
Camp Hale held "about 400 of the most incorrigible members of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's
Late 20th century
Tibetans were secretly trained at Camp Hale by the
In 1965, Camp Hale was dismantled and the land was deeded to the U.S. Forest Service. Since 1974, the area has become a youth development training center. An Eagle County non-profit organization, SOS Outreach, has used the site to expose disadvantaged youth to many of the same outdoor challenges experienced by the 10th Mountain Division.[25]
In 1962, Pete Seibert, who was among the soldiers who trained at Camp Hale and then returned to the area after the war, founded the Vail Ski Resort nearby.
In July and August 1985 the valley was the site of the North American Pathfinder camporee with 16,129 attending.[26]
Current status
In 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a cleanup effort to remove some of the unexploded ordnance at the site in conjunction with several other government agencies. This effort is still ongoing.
Most of the remnants of Camp Hale are located in the White River National Forest. There are camping grounds where overnight camping is permitted on this former army base. Several informational plaques are located throughout the area. These plaques contain historical information about camp construction, the 99th Infantry Battalion, ski training, rock climbing/alpine training, the motor pool area, CIA training, and camp entertainment.[27]
National Monument
In 2019, the Camp Hale site was proposed to be the first National Historic Landscape, under the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act, which would designate 28,728 acres for preservation.[28] Congressman Joe Neguse hosted Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper at Camp Hale on August 22, 2022, in support of the bill.[29] With the bill stalled in Congress,[30][31] on October 12, 2022, President Biden visited the site with the same five leaders and used the Antiquities Act to declare the site a national monument, the 53,804-acre Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument.[32] While the designation had support of area mayors and county commissioners and "drew a flurry of praise from political, social and conservation groups", various conservative politicians spoke out in opposition to the new national monument.[33] A survey had found 86% of Coloradans supported national monument protections for Colorado recreation and conservation areas.[34]
The monument includes approximately 28,684 acres in the Camp Hale area and 25,210 acres in the Tenmile area. The Tenmile area was originally proposed in the CORE Act to be recreation management area and wilderness area. The Continental Divide Trail passes through both sections for approximately 20 miles.[35]
See also
- Chushi Gangdruk
- List of national monuments of the United States
- List of protected areas of Colorado
- M116 howitzer
- M29 Weasel
- Ski Cooper
- Tibetan Resistance Since 1950
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 15 March 2006.
- ^ Symroski, Charles A. "Obituary, Onslow S. Rolfe, 1917". westpointaog.org/. West Point, NY: West Point Association of Graduates. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ "Biden designates Camp Hale a national monument, moves to block drilling and mining on Thompson Divide". Denver 7 Colorado News (KMGH). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ Coffield, Dana (12 October 2022). "Joe Biden has made Colorado's Camp Hale a national monument. Could a future president unravel it?". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "President Biden Designates Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument". usda.gov. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "FACT SHEET: President Biden Designates Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument". whitehouse.gov. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d Pennington, Bill. "The Legacy of Soldiers on Skis". The New York Times, 10 March 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ a b Shelton, 45–46
- ^ "History of Camp Hale and the 10th Mountain Division". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Camp Hale History" Archived 4 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Metropolitan State College of Denver, 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ Shelton, 48–49
- ^ a b Shelton, 54–55
- ^ "The Women's Army Corps Detachment" Archived 22 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Metropolitan State College of Denver, 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ Shelton, 67
- ^ "A pro-Nazi U.S. Army unit in WWII".
- ^ The 10th Mt Division currently is located at Fort Drum near Watertown NY. 10th Mountain Division History Archived 24 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Metropolitan State College of Denver, 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ "A Tradition of Victory / The POW Camp". Public Affairs Office, Fort Carson, Colorado. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2011. ('A Tradition of Victory" Book on archive.org)
- ^ Monys Hagen. "Prisoners of War". Department of History, Metropolitan State College of Denver. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ Monys A. Hagen (September 2005). The WACs of Camp Hale. Skiing Heritage Journal. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "Colorado Encyclopedia - Camp Hale". coloradoencyclopedia.org. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- OCLC 47930660.
By February 1963, four groups totaling 135 Tibetans (ten more than originally planned) had arrived at Hale.
- OCLC 47930660.
... the first wave of Tibetans.
- ^ Knaus, John Kenneth. Orphans of the Cold War
- ^ "Other Programs". Meet the Wilderness. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "International Pathfinder Camporee : 1985 – Camp Hale". camporee.org. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Camp Hale History" Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Colorado Ski Authority.|
- ^ "Camp Hale: First Historic Landscape?". Leadville Today. 8 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Congressman Neguse Welcomes Secretary Vilsack to Colorado's Camp Hale | U.S. Congressman Joe Neguse". neguse.house.gov. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Williams, David O. (11 October 2022). "Shame on Senate GOP for blocking CORE Act, forcing Biden's Camp Hale designation". Real Vail. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "Biden designates Camp Hale a national monument, moves to block drilling and mining on Thompson Divide". Denver 7 Colorado News (KMGH). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "WATCH: President Biden is speaking in Colorado about the state's newest national monument". The Denver Post. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ Staff, RealVail (12 October 2022). "Reaction pours in on Biden designation of Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument". Real Vail. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "The CORE Act | Continental Divide Trail Coalition". Retrieved 12 October 2022.
Sources
- "Veterans Closer than Brothers". The Denver Post. 29 July 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- Cowan, Jay. Big Pete's Last Drive. The Aspen Times. 17 February 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- Govan, Thomas B., Captain. History of the Tenth Light Division (Alpine) Archived 8 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine The Army Ground Forces Study, No. 28. 1946. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- Govan, Thomas B., Captain. "The Army Ground Forces:Training For Mountain and Winter Warfare" The Army Ground Forces Study, No. 23. 1946. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- Shelton, Peter. Climb to Conquer: The Untold Story of WWII's 10th Mountain Division. Scribner, 2003. ISBN 0-7432-2606-2.
Further reading
- Vietnam Magazine, August 2006
External links
External images | |
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Map of Camp Hale | |
Camp Hale photo |
- Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument
- Rocky Mountain PBS - Colorado Experience TV program (fall 2020): Camp Hale (YouTube video; closed captioning available)
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment - background, studies, risk assessment/management of leftover WWII munitions
- History Colorado - online collection of 10th Mountain Division / Camp Hale artifacts
- Metropolitan State College of Denver – website about Camp Hale
- Asian American Media.org – CIA's involvement in the Tibetan resistance