A recent realignment means a regiment of the Colorado Army National Guard is now part of the historic 10th Mountain Division.
The 10th Mountain Division was originally formed to prepare soldiers for alpine combat during World War II.
Colorado Army National Guard spokesman Captain Ronald Bailey says some of the original Mountain Division Soldiers were present at the ceremony for the new battalion. He says seeing veterans in their 90's pass on that legacy was moving.
"Watching that transition, watching those WWII veterans put the Tenth Mountain Patch on the shoulder of today's Colorado Army National Guard soldiers, that interaction was very special," he says, "and very deeply felt on both sides."
Captain Bailey says the original 10th Mountain Division soldiers were responsible for starting up much of Colorado's ski industry when they returned from war.
He says more than four hundred current National Guard soldiers were present at the patch ceremony.
