Photo By Michael Strasser | The Lt. Col. Dured E. Townsend Mission Training Complex is named after the commander...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Oct. 1, 2024) -- The Townsend Mission Training Complex at Fort Drum serves as the nucleus for integrating mission command simulations, virtual training, and live maneuver exercises to strengthen Soldiers’ warfighting capabilities.
The facility is named in honor of Lt. Col. Dured E. Townsend, who was among the first to join the 10th Mountain Division’s 87th Mountain Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington, in 1941, and fought in the Italian Campaign during World War II.
Townsend was born in Newberry, Indiana, on Nov. 2, 1911, the oldest of seven siblings. Like so many families struggling through the Great Depression, Townsend felt an obligation to improve their situation and military service seemed to be his best opportunity.
Only 16, he dropped out of high school and falsified his age to enlist in the Army. By all accounts, Townsend acclimated quickly to a regimented life and advanced to the rank of corporal before his enlistment ended in 1936. He returned home to complete high school and then enlisted again.
By 1941, Townsend achieved the rank of master sergeant and was assigned to instruct Reserve Officers’ Training Corps candidates in colleges and universities throughout the Northwest. Townsend’s exceptional work led him to pursue a commission himself.
When he learned about a new division of mountaineers and skiers forming at Fort Lewis, Washington, Townsend was eager to join its ranks. In 1943, he became 2nd Battalion commander in the 86th Mountain Infantry.
Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1944, Townsend led his Soldiers through the brutal cold-weather and mountain training that comprised the D-Series at Camp Hale, Colorado, and then the sweltering, long-distance ruck marches and field maneuvers at Camp Swift, Texas.
The 86th Mountain Infantry Regiment Soldiers boarded trains in December 1944 to Virginia and then crossed the ocean to an undisclosed destination. When the ship neared Africa, the regiment learned they were bound for Italy.
In early January 1945, the 86th moved to the heart of the Apennines where they would battle the enemy across the snow-covered mountains.
April 14 proved to be the deadliest day of battle for the division, with more than 140 Soldiers killed and another 500 injured. Townsend and the 2nd Battalion took heavy losses themselves as they fought through heavily mined terrain, machine gun fire and mortar attacks. Regardless of the risk, Townsend moved from one unit location to another to check on his Soldiers, direct movement, and call in for artillery support when needed.
Donald Traynor, who served under Townsend, wrote in an essay, “Who was Dured E. Townsend?” that his commander was virtually everywhere on the battlefield.
“He was the very heart of the Battalion and I realize that some will say that was not his function. He knew no other way and basically he was right,” Traynor stated. “General Mark Clark would call him directly on the phone telling him to keep the men moving ... as Townsend performed super human tasks leading his men.”
Under constant enemy fire, Townsend accompanied, instructed, and encouraged his Soldiers as his battalion protected the 10th Mountain Division's exposed right flank during its final attack in the North Apennine Mountains of Italy.
According to his Silver Star citation, Townsend was the only Soldier – on two occasions – who remained upright when large sections of a battalion were pinned down, moving to the heaviest fire and inspiring his troops to fight.
“The pressure placed upon the enemy that day enabled other units in the vicinity to overcome much of the staggering fire they had become subjected to and was instrumental in the securing of all objectives assigned,” Traynor wrote.
Shortly after reaching the objective on April 17, Townsend's vehicle was struck by a German 88 mm shell, seriously wounding his driver. While attending to his driver’s injuries, Townsend himself was hit by shrapnel when another shell fell nearby.
According to Traynor, Townsend was bleeding profusely from his neck and, but he refused aid while issuing orders to secure the village.
“He continued to try to move about until he almost fainted and had to sit down,” Traynor wrote. “He did not want to be evacuated. It was only later when a medic arrived that he permitted us to treat his wound.”
He was awarded the Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross, and Silver Star for his actions during the war.
Townsend served on active duty for 35 years until retiring in Tucson, Arizona. He was in the process of writing a history of the 10th Mountain Division when he became ill. He died July 1, 1985, in Pensacola, Florida, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
In 1997, a 7,000-pound bronze sculpture of a 10th Mountain Division ski trooper was commissioned by the Dured E. Townsend Memorial Fund, with the memorial placed in Slifer Plaza, Vail, Colorado.
On March 3, 2015, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum officials unveiled the memorialization plaque at the Mission Training Complex in honor of Townsend.
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2024 09:10 |
| Story ID: | 482187 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 11 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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