CHAPTER NEWS COORDINATOR
We gathered some announcements of upcoming events for everyone to be aware of. Please feel free to share stories and images of past events with the Descendants’ Chapter Coordinator, Phebe Davol (phebe.davol@gmail.com).
Midwest Chapter Event:
Announcing The Release of the Film:
“Bob Dole – A Walk Through History”
This November 2026, we invite you to walk through that history with us. For the descendants of the men of the 10th Mountain Division, this is more than the arrival of a film. It is the return of a story to the very land where it was written.
In the winter and spring of 1945, young American soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division fought their way through the mountains of Northern Italy. Among them was a young lieutenant from Kansas named Bob Dole. He came to Italy as a soldier. He left it carrying a wound that would shape the rest of his life. But Bob Dole’s story is only one part of a much larger story — the story of thousands of men who crossed an ocean, climbed mountains, fought through some of the most difficult terrain of the Italian campaign, and made sacrifices that would never fully leave them or their families.
“Bob Dole – A Walk Through History” brings that story back to life. Through the places where these events actually happened, the film follows Bob Dole’s journey and retraces the footsteps of the 10th Mountain Division, connecting the man, the soldier, the places and the history that shaped him. For those whose fathers and grandfathers served in the 10th Mountain Division, we hope this film will feel personal. Because it is.
These are not simply places on a map. These are places where your family history was made. Honoring the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, their perseverance and sacrifice in Italy especially, helps ensure that their stories — and the legacy they left behind — continue to be remembered by future generations.
Please join us for this special series of premiere screenings across Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Colorado
Interested in hosting a screening? We’re friendly, flexible, and easy to work with. We’ll work with you to find a date and format that fits your schedule and help make the screening a meaningful experience for your audience.
Elizabeth Ryles
Chicagoland Veterans Campus
10th Mtn Div Exhibit Dir.
Email: elizabeth.ryles@10thmtndivdesc.org
Some stories belong in history books. Others deserve to be remembered by walking through the places where they happened.
Luciano La Valle
Producer, Director, Screenwriter & Editor
Email: lucianolavalle14@gmail.com
Cavriglia, Italy
Premiere Screening Schedule
November 14–22, 2026
Chase away the summer doldrums with some fast-paced reading and lively discussion — spanning two generations of 10th Mountain soldiers, past and present. We’ll open with Beyond the Outpost: An Army Cavalry Officer’s War Diary on the Frontlines of Afghanistan, 2003–2007 by Ross Berkoff, a raw, first-hand account from a cavalry officer who lived the door-kicking early days of that war. From there, we’ll step back in time to Heroes in Good Company: L Company, 86th Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, 1943–1945 — a first-hand account of the men who stormed Riva Ridge, broke the Gothic Line, and opened the gateway to the Po Valley.
Two wars, six decades apart, one legacy of courage under fire.
