~ The Old Sachem ~ The 10th Mountain Division

By Bill Stewart

Bet you don’t know about the woman who trained skiers for the Tenth Mountain Division at Camp Hale in Leadville, Colorado. Deborah Bankart, from Swampscott, Massachusetts, was one of the first female instructors in the US Army training male skiers involved in World War II. Bankart was born in Swampscott in 1918 and passed away in 2004. She received many military commendations for her service during World War II in 2021 and was inducted into the 10th Mountain Hall of Fame.

She was among the first group of female ski instructors in the USA. The Army was getting ready for carrying the war to the Axis nations, and among the groups in training was the Tenth. The Army was creating organizations to carry on the war, and among the units were groups of young men who had to be trained for skiing in the mountains of Italy. The Army could not find enough skiers among the young men who were enlisted or inducted into the specialty, so they turned to instructors to complete the training after the troupers were trained in military readiness. Bankart was selected among a group of men and women to complete the training of troops to be able to fight the enemy in mountainous situations. Specialized troops were required to offset the Italian and German troops in the mountain regions of Europe. Bankart worked with legendary filmmaker John Jay to make films showing skiers the aspects of skiing in the mountainous area of Camp Hale in Leadville, Colorado.

Bankart lost a friend in the mountains of the Aleutian Islands, where the pair were deployed to work with the troops to battle in cold and dangerous situations. And she stated that that was a very big turning point for her. She felt that she had to find a place where she could help out in the war effort so she joined the Red Cross. After training in Alaska, the Tenth was deployed to Italy to battle Axis forces, and the Red Cross was selected to join the troopers in the mountains of Italy. Deborah could have easily become a fighting member of the Tenth because of her skiing acumen, but women weren’t allowed in action. The Red Cross required that the women not become troopers; they were required to use lipstick, paint their nails and wear perfume, although they were on the front lines of the war effort.

Doctor Anna Weismann, Associate Curator of Domestic Life at History Colorado, said, “We were at a very critical place in the Apennine Mountains in Italy. The Germans, the Nazis were really dug in defensively and we had to find a way to break through and there were many troops that tried. And it wasn’t until the 10th Mountain showed up, took the Riva Ridge, took Mount Belvedere, that they were able to punch through that defense line.”

She also said that Bankart stated, “The 10th Mountain Division helped win the war. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.” They certainly added to the prospect of defeating the German mountain troops.

After the war she decided to remain in Europe for a while and eventually married Captain Roger Eddy.

Weissman said that “Deborah continued to be very outdoorsy, she loved skiing. And unfortunately, there was a horseback riding incident, where she was injured so severely that she lost the ability to ski.”

Swampscott – no, all of the North Shore – should adopt tributes to Deborah Bankart, who didn’t personally fire upon the enemy, but was responsible for the success of the Tenth in the mountains of Italy.

(Editor’s Note: Bill Stewart, who is better known to Saugus Advocate readers as “The Old Sachem,” writes a weekly column about sports – and sometimes he opines on current or historical events or famous people.)