Photo By Michael Strasser | Chaplain (Col.) James Lester, senior command chaplain, addresses the gathering of Fort...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Feb. 20, 2025) -- The Fort Drum Religious Support Office hosted a prayer luncheon Feb. 19 inside The Peak to celebrate faith and fellowship with the community.
Chaplain (Maj.) Jason Hill, family life chaplain, said prayer has been a vital part of American heritage ever since the Continental Congress called upon the people to pray for wisdom in the forming of the nation.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a National Day of Prayer that has endured ever since.
“Today, we come together as a community here at Fort Drum,” Hill said. “We will join our hearts together and pray for our Soldiers and their families, and for our leader, for our military, and for our nation.”
Chaplain (Col.) James Lester, senior command chaplain, said Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (LI) are currently in Colorado and Italy – at the very sites where the division first trained and then fought during World War II – to honor their history and legacy.
“Every time you hear, ‘Climb to Glory,’ you’re remembering what they did,” Lester said. “I feel it’s important for us to talk about legacy. Because, eventually, one day all of us will be gone and you need to leave something more for those who follow.”
On Feb. 18, 1945, 10th Mountain Division Soldiers embarked on a nighttime assault on Riva Ridge in the northern Apennine Mountains of Italy. The entrenched German forces never expected an attack because the steep slopes and cliffs made the ridge invulnerable.
After capturing Riva Ridge and Mount Belvedere, the 10th Mountain Division made further critical advancements for the Allied forces until the Germans surrendered Italy on May 2, 1945.
Lester said the Soldiers who fought in the Italian campaign against the Germans couldn’t have captured Riva Ridge and Mount Belvedere without having trained for months to hone their skills at the highest altitudes and in extreme conditions. They endured it not as individuals but as a team.
Lester used the analogy of an Olympic relay team where runners move at incredible speeds before passing the baton with precision to their teammates. To accomplish those seamless transitions, a team needs to practice and be in synch with one another.
“It takes training and intentionality to match speed, and then to reach back without looking and grab the baton,” Lester said. “They put their hand out there and expect that their teammate is going to be there to pass the baton. And they get it, and take off, and when they come around again, they do the same thing with the next person until the race is over.”
“That’s what legacy is about,” he continued. “That’s what we are to do in the 10th Mountain Division because we are intentionally preparing to pass this baton to the next generation, so that our Soldiers and families who follow us have something more than what they had before, and to prepare them for what’s coming next.”
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2025 08:15 |
| Story ID: | 491106 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 129 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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