<p>The storied history of the Armys 10th Mountain Division traces back nearly 60 years to a snow-covered Italian mountain range near the end of World War II. Nearly a thousand soldiers died in less than four months of fighting to help liberate Italy.</p><p>The fight against terrorism has not been nearly as deadly for the militarys most deployed unit. But the impact is still felt for the 17 Fort Drum soldiers who have died overseas.</p><p>Anytime a community loses a member, it affects the whole community, said Deputy Division Chaplain Kevin Weston. These are people who made the ultimate sacrifice for their families and their country. For a fellow soldier, its hard not to be touched when another soldier dies.</p><p>The division lost 872 soldiers during World War II, according to Jim Neville, curator of the Fort Drum historical collection. Another 81 soldiers were postwar victims listed as died of wounds.</p><p>Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began last year, 17 soldiers from Fort Drum have died during deployment, including 15 whose deaths are listed as combat-related.</p><p>The Army does not keep a central list of fallen soldiers by division or post, an Army spokesman said. So far, 544 American troops have been killed in Iraq and another 111 in Afghanistan and elsewhere as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Department of Defense.</p><p>One soldier, Spec. John K. Klinesmith, Jr., of Stockbridge, Ga., died in a swimming accident in a lake on an Iraqi palace compound in Al Fallujah. Another soldier, Sgt. Glenn R. Allison, 24, of Pittsfield, Mass., died during physical training in Baghdad just one week after deploying to Iraq.</p><p>Spc. Chad Fuller, 24, of Potsdam, and Pfc. Adam Thomas, 21, of Palos Hills, Ill., both infantrymen assigned to 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, were killed in action Aug. 3, 2003, while on patrol near Shkin, Afghanistan.</p><p>They were the first combat deaths the division had suffered since its deployment in 1993 to Somalia, where a group of 10th Mountain Division soldiers won distinction by saving a unit of trapped Rangers in Mogadishu, a rescue chronicled in the best-selling book and movie, Black Hawk Down.</p><p>Two 10th Mountain Division soldiers _ Sgt. Cornell Houston and Pfc. James Martin Jr. _ were killed and 23 wounded in the rescue. Two other 10th Mountain Division soldiers died in Somalia.</p><p>Those four deaths were the only deployment-related fatalities suffered by the 10th Mountain Division since it was reactivated at Fort Drum in 1986. Since that time, 10th Mountain Division soldiers have served in the Gulf War, the Sinai, Bosnia, Kosovo and Haiti among other places.</p><p>Presently, nearly three-quarters of the 10,000-soldier division are deployed, including about 5,000 10th Mountain Division soldiers who are in Afghanistan training the Afghan army and hunting for Taliban and Al-Qaida rebels.</p><p>The divisions deadliest day occurred on Jan. 29 when a cache of mortar rounds and rifle ammunition exploded as a group of soldiers was disposing it. The explosion killed eight soldiers, including four from the 10th Mountain Division: Staff Sgt. Shawn M. Clemens, 28, of Allegany; Spc. Robert J. Cook, 24, of Sun Prairie, Wis..; Spc. Justin A. Scott, 22, of Bellevue, Ky.; and Sgt. Benjamin L. Gilman, 28, of Meriden, Conn.</p><p>When a 10th Mountain Division soldier is killed in battle, there is little visible acknowledgment on post _ although emotions among the troops run deep, said R.D. Murphy, a Fort Drum spokesman.</p><p>You may not see it. But everyone hurts. The Army is a family, Murphy said.</p><p>Flags remain at full-staff. Memorial services are usually held by the soldiers unit overseas. The body is shipped back to the soldiers family in their hometown, often located in another state, doing away with the need for a memorial service on post, Murphy said.</p><p>Soldiers die in war. Theres always that chance. Every soldier knows that. Its something you accept and live with, said Spc. William Vincent, an Army reservist headed to Iraq. Our training, our work have to go on. Its not that no one notices. We have our jobs to do. Besides, for most people, grieving is a personal thing.</p><p>The division remembers its former soldiers in other ways, Murphy said.</p><p>There are 39 buildings, streets and ranges named after 10th Mountain Division soldiers, including Magrath Gymnasium, which honors World War II Pfc. John D. Magrath , the divisions only Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. The post itself is named after Lt. Gen. Hugh A. Drum, who commanded the First Army during World War II.</p><p>There also is a Heros Walk at the 10th Mountain Division Monument outside division headquarters where a bronze plaque marks each of the reactivated divisions deployments. The plaque recognizing Somalia lists the names of the soldiers killed in combat there.</p><p>When the war in Iraq and Afghanistan ends, plaques will be set paying tribute to the soldiers killed in those deployments, Murphy said.</p>
