"Detroit's Own" Polar Bear Memorial Association American North Russia Expeditionary Force

INTRODUCTION | CEREMONIES & EVENTS | HONOR ROLL | MILITARY DECORATIONS | ENGAGEMENTS

"POLAR BEAR" STORIES | ARTICLES & REF. INFO. | PHOTO ALBUM | MORE LINKS | BOOKS | GUESTBOOK

"Polar Bear" Stories
as told by themselves and/or their relatives

Cpl. George Masser, Co. F, 339th In. Reg. - photos of him in uniform and with the VFW "Polar Bear" Post # 436 flag.

Lee R. Sackett - Cook, Company A, 310th Engineers - photos plus a letter written by him on March 9, 1919 fron the Railroad Front.

Sgt Lee Blodgett - Company B, 310th Engineers, by the Royal Oak (Michigan) Historical Society; includes a brief biography, a photo of him in uniform, his military records, a letter to his mother and a partial diary.

"The Diary of 1st Lt. George W. Stoner, Jr.", Company M, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division, U.S. Army. Click to read: Part 1 | Part 2

Cpl. Joseph Franczak, Company A, 339th Infantry Regiment; wounded while manning his machine gun in the defense of Visorka Gora on January 22, 1919; awarded the AEF Gallantry Citation and the British Military Medal.

"Major William H. Henry, 310th Eng. Medical Detachment" - Biographical sketch of William H. Henry, M.D., 1872-1963, including photos and citation.

"Amputation by Pocketknife" - the story of Pvt. Charles R. Doe, Co. A, 310th Engineers.

The Recollections of Cpl. Howard A. French, Co. A, 310th Engineers, have been provided courtesy of his son, Wayne French of Crystal Falls, MI. After his return home, Howard French wrote and typed up six pages describing his experiences in North Russia, primarily along the Dvina River Front. He included details surrounding the enemy shelling of Seltso on Oct. 14, 1918 that resulted in several deaths and casualties. Cpl. French was the person who performed the field amputation of Pvt. Charles Doe's right lower leg and then evacuated him and two other wounded men to a hospital boat on the Dvina River. Click to read: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6

Sgt. Fred W. Wolfe - Company K, 339th Infantry Regiment, photos and personal information.

"A Polar Bear in North Russia" - Pvt. Wm. Bryan Robbins, Company I, 339th Infantry Regiment; biographical information, letters, and photos presented in multiple postings on the genealogy blog written by his great-granddaughter, Miriam Robbins Midkiff.

The Diary of Pvt. Harry J. Baggott, Co. B, 310th Engineers. Pvt. Baggott was assigned to the Railroad Front and later to the Dvina River Front. Baggott describes in detail the fighting that occurred in Toulgas and Kurgomen during the Allied withdrawal in April and May of 1919 (includes photos).

"Levi Bartels Papers" which includes a transcript of a 1978 oral history made by Levi, plus photographs, letters, discharge papers, and other papers related to his service in Russia. Levi was a Sergeant in Company K of the 339th Infantry Regiment. Click here for a description of the complete contents of this collection, which was prepared and donated to the Bentley Library by Levi's grandson, Bruce Bartels. Bruce has also created a web site about his grandfather's military service, titled "A Farm Boy Goes to War- A Man Becomes a Bear". His web site includes three sub pages: Articles , Sgt Levi Bartels and WWI Polar Bear Information

"No After While - the Death of Cpl. Morris J. Foley" - Cpl. Foley, Co. B, 339th Inf., was KIA 20 Sept 1918 at Seltso

"It is Like Hunting Rabbits, Only on a Bigger Scale" - the WWI correspondence of Cpl. Clement Grobbel, Co. I, 339th Inf.

"The Diary of Sgt. Edwin Renner" - Sgt. Renner, HQ Company, 339th Inf. Reg., maintained a diary covering the period July 13, 1918 through June 15, 1919, most of which was spent in Archangel and on the Vologda Railroad Front.

"Diary of Pvt. Wilfred L. Martell" - the daily entries of Wilfred Martell, Signal Detachment, HQ Co., 339th Inf., covering the period 13 Oct 1918 through 10 July 1919

"The Diary of Paul H. Rademacher" - the observations of Paul Rademacher, Co. A, 310th Engineers, written during the period 11 July 1918 to 16 August 1919

Pvt. Casimer "Cash" Nowak, Co. B, 310th Engineers - his photos and notes about his travels as a soldier in the USA, England and North Russia from July 1918 through March 1919.

"The Diary of Cpl. Frank W. Douma, Co. D, 339th Infantry" - his diary covers the period of July 1918 through July 1919 and describes his daily life and the weather as well as fighting at Seltso, Sept. 1918; Toulgas, Nov. 1918; Vistafka, Feb.-March 1919; and Kurgomen, April-May 1919. This diary is one of the many documents that can be viewed at the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library's Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections.

"Paul Totten's Polar Bear Memories" - the recollections of Pvt. Paul Totten, Co. F, 339th Inf.

"The Strange, Sad Death of Sgt. Kenney"
by John E. Walsh, Wisconsin Magazine of History, Winter 2001-2002. The author was the nephew of Sgt. Michael Kenney, Co. K, 339th Infantry (opens in a new window)

This is a ".pdf" file which uses Adobe Acrobat Reader viewing software - if you don't have it, use the link button at right to download it for free.

Pvt. John Wojtkowiak (HQ Co.) & Sgt. Joseph Voight (Co. L), 339th Inf. Reg. - these were brothers who served in North Russia; this website also includes White Chapel Polar Bear burial maps, rosters and other related links

"The John Voight Collection" - links to collections of photos and a roster of Polar Bears

Pvt. 1/c Herman Van Sluyters, Co. A, 339th Infantry (1895-1980) - a genealogical record with details about his service


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INTRODUCTION | CEREMONIES & EVENTS | HONOR ROLL | MILITARY DECORATIONS | ENGAGEMENTS

"POLAR BEAR" STORIES | ARTICLES & REF. INFO. | PHOTO ALBUM | MORE LINKS | BOOKS | GUESTBOOK


This page created and maintained by Mike Grobbel.
Created: 04 July 2002; Last Revised: 09 Feb 2015
The URL for this page is: http://pbma.grobbel.org/polarbearstories.htm


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