Program - Front Cover
Program - Front Cover
Program - Inside Pages
The Polar Bear Monument - Sculpted by Leon Hermant and dedicated
on May 30, 1930.
Members of the hard-working crew at White Chapel
Master of Ceremonies Mike Grobbel opens the Service.
Posting of the Colors.
Jenifer Kincer (background) sings our National Anthem.
Jenifer Kincer and her accompanist.
Guest Speaker Gordon Olson
addresses the attendees. He is the editor of "A Michigan Polar Bear Confronts the
Bolsheviks: A War Memoir", which is the memoir of Godfrey Anderson, 337th
Field Hospital, American North Russia Expeditionary Force.
A pair of A-10 "Warthogs" from the 127th Wing (ANG)
stationed at Selfridge Field conducted a fly-over in honor of the
"Polar Bears".
Laying of the wreaths.
Three Volley Salute by the firing party from the 1-334 Training
Support Batallion, U.S. Army Reserve, Fraser, MI.
Jenifer Kincer sings "America the Beautiful".
Retiring the Colors.
Jenifer Kincer performs "God Bless the USA" to close
the program.
Alton "Oz" Grobbel (L) and Lyle Steinhaus (R).
"Oz" is the son of
Clement Grobbel (Co. I. 339th Inf. Reg.) and Lyle is the grandson
of William Steinhaus (Co. A, 339th Inf. Reg.)
For twenty years beginning in 1936, William was the City Clerk
and Treasurer of Center Line, Michigan and Clement was Center
Line's Water Dept. Superintendent.
The Poppy Wreath on the Monument was sent by the members of the 49th West Riding Infantry Division's Polar Bear
Association (United
Kingdom).
Kathleen, Rosalyn and Daniel Anderson traveled from Florida to
attend the service. They are (left to right) the granddaughter,
daughter-in-law and grandson of Godfrey Anderson (337th Field
Hospital Company, American North Russia Expeditionary Force).
Mike Grobbel, his uncle "Oz" Grobbel and Lyle Steinhaus.
The descendants and family members of Aldred Buckler (Supply
Company, 339th Inf. Reg.)
Marjorie (Buckler) Campbell (front, second from left) is the
daughter of "Polar Bear" Aldred Buckler..
The descendants and family members of Clement Grobbel (Company I,
339th Inf. Reg.). Four of his sons are in this photo, Vincent (front
row with walker), Mark (immediately behind Vincent), Alton (aka
"Oz", just to the left of Mark) and Sylvester (back row,
far left, partially visible wearing sunglasses)
"Oz" Grobbel with his daughter Kathy Canapini in front
of the "Four Freedoms Memorial" at White Chapel
Cemetary.
The offficers of the Polar
Bear Memorial Association had just placed the heart-shaped wreath
at the Memorial, which towers over the final resting place of 322
World War II veterans. Beginning in 1949, the Memorial Day
service for the Polar Bears included the dispatching of a special
detail to march over to the Four Freedoms Memorial and place a
wreath in honor of those who had given their lives in the Second
World War.
[all photos were taken by Lyle Steinhaus, except for the two in which he appears plus the very bottom one]
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