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In April 1942, a little over two years before the Tenth Mountain Division officially obtained its name, the U.S. Army began the unprecedented construction of a training facility for its newly acquired ski and mountain troops. Located near Pando in Colorado's Sawatch Range, the site eventually known as Camp Hale sits at an elevation of 9,250 feet. Immense challenges in its creation and subsequent training included ongoing racial conflict, the high altitude and blustery winters. However, thanks to contributions from civilian workers and the Women's Army Corps and support from neighboring communities, the camp trained soldiers who helped defeat the Axis powers in World War II. Veteran David R. Witte brings to life this enduring story.

On December 7, 1941, war came to Arroyo Grande when two local sailors were killed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. People from the small town were thrust into great circumstances and quickly answered the call for action. A local storekeeper's son won the Silver Star after he brought his flaming B-17 safely back to base. A valley farmworker served with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team, largely composed of soldiers of Japanese descent. Chinese guerrillas commanded by Mao Zedong—the future Chairman Mao—threw a birthday party for an Arroyo Grande soldier. At home, community groups like the Arroyo Grande Women's Club brought packed lunches for their Japanese American neighbors on the morning they were forced to leave for the internment camps. Local author Jim Gregory brings to life the sorrows and triumphs of a dramatic period in local history.