WILLIAM W. BODDINGTON PAPERS

Collection

Identifier: TMD21

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between the Foundation and its donors, and the Foundation and its funding recipients between 1958 and 1996. The collection also contains financial information, Foundation brochures, clippings files, and biographies of veterans in whose names scholarships were given. Other files relate to National Association of the 10th Mountain Division reunions, rosters, Division songs and music, news clippings, and 1945 photographs from the Italian campaign. A small number of files contain Boddington's personal correspondence with other Tenth Mountain Division veterans and Colorado College; photocopies of manuscripts sent to Boddington by other veterans; manuscripts sent to him by other veterans; news clippings; and photographs.

SERIES 1 FOUNDATION CORRESPONCE AND EPHEMERA 1958-1996 BOX 1-4

This series contains Tenth Mountain Division Foundation correspondence related to fundraising for the War Memorial on Tennessee Pass in Colorado and later activities funded by the Association, including memorials at Lake Placid, New York, and in Italy, and the Scholarship Fund. Foundation files dated between 1958 and 1965 are labeled the 10th Mountain Division Association War Memorial Foundation. In 1965, the Association renamed the Foundation the Tenth Mountain Division Foundation to reflect its broader mission of funding scholarships for children of veterans. Some correspondence with student scholarship applicants and thank-you notes from recipients exist. Other files contain correspondence and information related to the Foundation endowment fund, activities with the International Federation of Mountain Soldiers, the Colorado Altitude Research Center, the Tenth Mountain Hut Association, and the Charles Minot Dole Plaque. Some correspondence includes notes of a personal nature from fellow veterans to William Boddington.

In 1973, the Foundation Board agreed to establish an endowment fund to further its operations and continue to support the scholarship fund for children of veterans. Ephemera includes financial documents; biographical information about the veterans in whose name the scholarships were established; information on the Tenth Mountain Hut system; memorabilia concerning the Tennessee Pass Memorial; Memorial Day speeches and activities; the Colorado Ski Museum and Ski Hall of Fame; rosters; and clippings files.

SERIES 2 ASSOCIATION PAPERS AND EPHEMERA 1965-1995 BOX 4-5

This series contains National Associatio of the 10th Mountain Division rosters; songs and song books; Rocky Mountain Chapter by-laws; Executive Committee reports; Division reunion information; and some reunion correspondence.

SERIES 3 BILL BODDINGTON PERSONAL PAPERS AND EPHEMERA 1942-1996 BOX 5

This series contains information related to the Boddington Lumber Company; an 86th Mountain Infantry roster; Company A 86th Infantry Division reunion information; personal memorabilia in the form of newspaper and magazine clippings, newsletters; correspondence; ephemera from William W. "Uncle Bud" Skinner's Hut dedication; photocopies of histories relating different aspects of the 86th Mountain Infantry Regiment's attack on Riva Ridge; a typewritten copy of General George P. Hays autobiography; correspondence with Bill Bowerman regarding the Po River operation; and memorial leaflets from funeral services for Boddington and his wife Jo Boddington.

SERIES 4 PHOTOGRAPHS 1945-circa1990 BOX 5

This series contains black and white photographic prints taken during the war in Italy, and undated black and white and color photographic prints of Boddington, his wife, and unidentified persons taken over the years, possibly at Tenth Mountain Division reunions.

Dates

1942-1996

Creator

Boddington, William W.,1910-1996. (Person)
Boddington, William W., 1910-1996, (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Copyright

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

William Westcott Boddington was born November 22, 1920, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to William Foley and Helen Westcott Boddington. His family owned a five-acre farm and cobblestone quarry where he learned ski jumping using barrel-stave skis made by a Norwegian neighbor. He played field hockey in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, California, and competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. When the United States entered WWII, he quit his job selling limestone for commercial and business buildings to enlist. At the age of thirty-one, Boddington was older than most inductees, but he knew Charles Minot Dole, who recommended that he join the newly formed ski troops. After considerable confusion on the Army's part, he finally joined the 87th Mountain Infantry Battalion, which had begun training in Washington State. His commanding officer recommended him for Officer's Candidate School (OCS) and on his return from OCS, he was assigned to duty as a Captain in the 86th Infantry Regiment at Camp Hale, Colorado. He served with the troops at Hale, Camp Swift, Texas, and Italy, receiving two Bronze Stars for his service. Boddington married Josephine Hartwell of Colorado Springs on August 22, 1944. After the war the couple settled in Colorado Springs where Boddington started a family-owned and operated lumber company.

Boddington joined the National Associatio of the 10th Mountain Division's Foundation Board of Trustees and served as its Chairman between 1979 and 1988. He continued to aid in Foundation business and correspondence until shortly before his death on November 15, 1996.

The Tenth Mountain Division Foundation was originally started by the National Associatio of the 10th Mountain Division in 1958 as the 10th Mountain Division Association War Memorial Foundation. The Foundation's purpose was the receipt of tax-exempt donations to fund a memorial for the nearly one thousand men of the Division who died in Italy. The Association's funding campaign succeeded in raising funds not only for the Tennessee Pass Memorial in Colorado, but for memorials in Lake Placid, New York, and in Italy. The Association members decided to dedicate the remaining funds to college scholarships for the children of Division veterans. With the deaths of commanding officers like Lieutenant. General George P. Hays, Lieutenant Colonel Henry J. Hampton, and Colonel David J. Fowler, scholarship funds were created in their names to receive donations from the men who had served under their leadership. In 1965, the Association changed the organization name to the Tenth Mountain Division Foundation to reflect its broader funding mission.

Extent

5 Boxes

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift;William W. Boddington;undated.

Related Materials

The Western History/Genealogy Department has additional collections containing material related to William W. Boddington and the 10th Mountain Division including:

10th Mountain Division Records TMD1

10th Mountain Division Database Records TMD2

National Association of the 10th Mountain Division Records TMD40