The paperback edition of Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Maurice Isserman’s The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division, America’s Elite Alpine Warriors was published this month.
Added to the paperback edition is a new afterword that includes quotations from letters sent to the author. Some are from members of the 10th Mountain Division who survived the WWII battles in Italy, others from descendants. Their letters both congratulate Isserman and add to his story. Others express thanks for providing pieces to family narratives missing for decades. One son of a deceased member of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment wrote, “Thanks for helping to keep his and other brave soldiers’ memories alive.”
Another letter from the son of a deceased soldier was especially memorable to Isserman. His father survived WWII but as a quadriplegic. “I wish I had known much of what I learned, years ago, when I could have discussed it with my dad,” he wrote, echoing the sentiments of many others.