DENVER — A Black felt hat with an orange double cord and gold eagle ordaining front sits on a table inside a research area at History Colorado.
“You might be wondering, like, this is just a fez… this belonged to Benito Mussolini,” Sydney Mauck, History Colorado Anschutz Military Collection specialist told Denver7 recently. “His actual fez was found in a closet and then brought home by a 10th Mountain soldier."
Mauck slowly and meticulously provides details for a handful of items connected to the 10th Mountain Division, a World War II unit that trained in Colorado for mountain warfare in the U.S. Army, the first division of its kind.
“What makes them very special is that we call them 'The Ski Toopers.' They are specialty trained in both skiing and mountain climbing in order to prepare them for any kind of mountain warfare scenario,” Mauck said. “They recruited men who had all kinds of outdoor skills. They're avid hikers, gold panners, because they knew how to, you know, navigate the wilderness.”
Recruiting
In the early 1940s, skiing wasn’t a popular sport, and most 10th Mountain Division soldiers had to learn the skill.
“So, the U.S. Army was actually producing literature like this (a manual) which we use after the fact to train, you know, teach people how to ski in the 50s and 60s,” Mauck said,
Ralph Hulbert was recruited for his archery skills.
“He was part of the 86th Infantry unit, or regiment, and so Ralph was a competitive archer, and the U.S. Army made a custom take down bow that he could sling on his back. He trained at Camp Hale,” Mauck said.
Camp Hale
Before entering combat, all 10th Mountain Division soldiers trained at Camp Hale, right outside of Leadville.
“So, training up at 10,000 feet really helped them get prepared to fight in the Italian mountains,” Mauck said.
“Camp Hale was constructed not very far from here to the north of us here in Leadville…. mountaineering and skiing and all of these things that had never been attempted before, really in U.S. military history. And the Healy House was a museum at that time, or in the very beginning days of being a museum," Hannah Cary, the director of the Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin, a space that tells the story of Leadville and its place in Colorado history, said.
She added that Camp Hale was where the Red Cross met during World War II.
"We also had the sewing circles who would, once those soldiers moved into Camp Hale, were repairing clothing for soldiers and conducting clothing drives," she said.
Cary said the 10th Mountain Divisions story is a unique chapter in Lake County and Colorado history.
“These men came up here and went through all of this really strenuous, very unique training, and we're able to make a real difference in the Allies winning World War II,” Cary said.
That training paid off in a big way during the Battle of Riva Ridge in the Northern Apennine Mountains of Italy.
The Battle of Rive Ridge
“They’re sent out to climb a 2,000-foot cliff face in the middle of the night to surprise the Germans that are staked out on top of Ridge X, which becomes Riva Ridge. They're able to do that, and because of their heroic efforts, the rest of the division is able to break through the Gothic Line, and it turns the tide of the war the war in Northern Italy in1945,” Mauck said.
Mauck said Hulbert, who became known as Ralph the Hunter, was a big part of the battle, armed with his bow.
“On February 18, 1945, Ralph was part of that initial climb up. And because you had to be so secret and silent, the men who were climbing up that cliff face were only armed with bayonets and hand grenades, because rifles would give away their position,” Mauck said. “There are a few oral histories that have stated that the first confirmed kill on Riva Ridge was done by Ralph with this bow and arrow."
Mauck said Hulbert’s mom also played a part in Hulbert's success in battle.
“He uses up all of his first supply of arrows. So, he has to write home a letter to mom, who's here in Denver, asking for more arrows. So, she goes around to Sears and buys up as much as she can, and then has to mail them out.”
Hulbert uses all but two arrows his mother sent him and those two arrows are now a part of History Colorado’s collection.
10th Mountain Division’s place in history
After the Battle of Riva Ridge, the 10th Mountain Division went on to seize Mussolini’s lakeside villa.
“It's there that they take all kinds of, what we call, 'war souvenirs,'” Mauck said.
The war souvenirs included Mussolini’s fez.
After two years of training, but just five months of warfare, the army deactivated the 10th Mountain Division.
“After their combat service, they came back and really poured that love into Colorado with really the establishment of the ski industry and recreational rock climbing,” Mauck said.
She added these brave soldiers transformed their humble training ground into an outdoor enthusiast’s dream.
As the U.S. prepares to celebrate its 250th year as a nation and Colorado prepares to celebrate its 150th year as a state, History Colorado has a special exhibit dedicated to the 10th Mountain Division.
The Winter Warriors: The 10th Mountain Division in World War Two exhibit opens at Healy House on May 22, 2026, and runs through Sept. 24, 2027.
