As the best skiers in the world are about to put themselves to the test in the winter Olympics in China, we look back to a group of World War II soldiers who set the stage for modern skiing.

The 10th Mountain Division fought in the Italian Mountains against Axis soldiers, and they returned home with an insatiable love for the mountains.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with McKay Jenkins, author of “The Last Ridge: The Epic Story of America’s First Mountain Soldiers and the Assault on Hitler’s Europe.” He teaches journalism and environmental humanities at the University of Delaware.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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