Polar Bears - Grouping of Pvt. Eugene Gitz, 4th Platoon of Co. M, 339th Infantry

[JDR]

@manayunkman and @katieony,

 

Thank you for the kind words!

 

@danimal03,

 

Interesting about the wheat seeds, would be interesting if you could track down the owner. The University of Michigan has a datatbase you can search names of men on the Polar Bear Expedition, I too have a helmet that was not part of the grouping listed here and found the name of "Carl" written in the liner. You should give that database a look!

 

https://bentley.umich.edu/research/catalogs-databases/polar-bear/polar-bear-roster/

 

If I recall correctly, the helmets with the "RUSSIA" stencils were done by a particular detachment of the 339th who borrowed stencils from the crew of the ship they were taking back to Europe or the U.S. I would have to dig through my notes on that one. Thanks for your kind words too, here's my example of a 339th pot:

 

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[danimal03]

thank you for the link.  I will definitely give it a try.  I cannot remember the resources I used to try and find him.  I will have to find the name in the uniform.  It was in a very obscure place and the uniform was sold to me as 'unnamed'.  I really tore through is and did find a first initial and last name.  I just have forgot what it was.

 

Great helmet.  Mine has the typical doughboy camo, the bear on mine is without the blue background.  I have seen a picture of soldiers wearing the type of helmet I have.  I just do not remember where.  But the one I have is the only paint scheme I have personally come across.  I was an instructor for several years and considered building a case study on the Polar Bear Expedition.  I started buying artifacts for this intent.  It just never happened.  But I have a seriously healthy respect for what those men went through and will retain my Polar Bear items even though I do not really collect WWI.  My focus in California Gold Rush, American Civil War, and WWII. But I have a few WWI items including my Polar Bear items.  Great helmet and thank you for adding it.  It is a beauty. Cheers!

[JDR]

16 hours ago, danimal03 said:

thank you for the link.  I will definitely give it a try.  I cannot remember the resources I used to try and find him.  I will have to find the name in the uniform.  It was in a very obscure place and the uniform was sold to me as 'unnamed'.  I really tore through is and did find a first initial and last name.  I just have forgot what it was.

 

Great helmet.  Mine has the typical doughboy camo, the bear on mine is without the blue background.  I have seen a picture of soldiers wearing the type of helmet I have.  I just do not remember where.  But the one I have is the only paint scheme I have personally come across.  I was an instructor for several years and considered building a case study on the Polar Bear Expedition.  I started buying artifacts for this intent.  It just never happened.  But I have a seriously healthy respect for what those men went through and will retain my Polar Bear items even though I do not really collect WWI.  My focus in California Gold Rush, American Civil War, and WWII. But I have a few WWI items including my Polar Bear items.  Great helmet and thank you for adding it.  It is a beauty. Cheers!

Danmial03,

 

I think I recall the photo you mentioned, I have it saved somewhere. Same goes for me here, that expedition was no cake walk by a long shot. I recently loaned my copy of James Nelson's Polar Bear Expedition to an accomplice; he told me while reading it he had to put the book down several times due to how extreme the contents were. It really is a shame the plight of those men is not discussed in most coverings of WWI.

 

Be sure to share what you find on that uniform! I would love to see a photo of it and your helmet should you have the time to share it here!

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[JDR]

@danimal03,

 

It would also be worth reaching out to the President of the Polar Bear Memorial Assicoation, Mr. Mike Grobbel, about the name you have. He is very quick to answer and I think the MI Heroes Museum has a much more up to date roster list. Within a day or two of reaching out to him regarding my Polar Bear I had just about all the info I could ask for sent my way from Mike.

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[JDR]

On 10/21/2023 at 8:28 AM, JDR said:

Part V of Eugene Gitz's Items

 

In this final comment will be the other non-ANREF items which came with the grouping. These items pertain to the Siberian AEF campaign; how these ended up accompanying a Northern Russia uniform is a mystery I may never solve.

 

Postcard of Vladivostok Siberia

 

Japanese-printed postcard depicting allied troops in Siberia

 

Lumber yards located in Solombola

"57 Fo.4" on bottom right corner of image

 

Hand saw mill in Archangel

(I forgot to add this image to one of my previous comments covering Archangel items)

Bottom caption reads "Folio-1-Neg. No. 10."

 

One of four different copies of Siberian AEF newspapers that came with the grouping 

Here and There With the 31st - Wherever We Happen to Be

September 19th, 1919

 

The American Sentinel dated May 10th 1919

The inscription on this copy may be the only clue as to why these items accompanied the ANREF uniform; the address

"1186 Island Avenue" was once a location in Milwaukee WI, the same city Pvt. Eugene lived following the war.

Perhaps the name "Bartlett," written multiple times on this copy, was someone who served in Siberia and knew Eugene

enough for these to make their way into his possession.  That is as far as my investigating has gotten me!

 

Thank you for reading through my comments on this grouping! If anything else surfaces in my research regarding Pvt. Eugene I will ensure this thread gets an update.

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

Greetings,

 

Came around to checking out @Niner Alpha's request for the name of Coppeler in the newsletters but I was unable to find him. Would you happen to have a specific unit he would have served with in Siberia? It appears as if the newsletters are broken up into individual companies within the 27th/31st Infantries.

 

I also took a second look at the copies of The American Sentinel and it dawned on me that these newspapers were printed in Archangel and were not Siberian AEF as I had previously thought. Now I am kicking myself over the fact that I totally missed this!

 

Did a quick search on the name of "Bartelt" (not Bartlett as I had previously thought) and got a match on a Private Reinhold Bartelt, Ser. #2031529, of Company B 310th Engineers. Pvt. Bartelt too, according to the information I have online and the address written on the newspaper, lived in Milwaukee and not too terribly far from Pvt. Eugene was at in Milwaukee. For the time being I do not really know if either men actually knew eachother at one point in time, but it is fascinating to have two items related to ANREF men from Milwaukee in one grouping!

 

Passenger List, USS Louisville

June 26th 1919

Pvt. Bartelt is listed as passenger no. 25

1186 Island Avenue, Milwaukee matches the address written on the newspaper

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

 

[Niner Alpha]

All I know is that my old 1st Sgt from Vietnam's dad was in the 31st infantry regiment. l Have no idea what company.   If you are interested in a Regiment newspaper from December  1921 I posted the whole thing at my milsurp site.    https://milsurpafterhours.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=62478&hilit=31st+Regiment#p62478

[JDR]

Greetings,

 

Came around to taking photos just of Eugene's coat and the WWI victory medal found on the jacket. Please enjoy:

 

 

 

 

@Niner Alpha I also just picked this lid up recently complete with liner. Had been glossed over with a paint seal at one point and a prior collector mistakenly used bio-peanuts to store it hence the oval-shaped marks:

 

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

 

 

 

 

[danimal03]

Thank you for the recent add. Stellar artifacts! I think Polar Bear relics are some of the most historic relics from WWI.  I have a tunic and unusual helmet in my collection I will add to given the chance.  I missed a Polar Bear Purple Heart about 3 years ago.  It sold before I saw it.  Only one I have EVER seen.  I would have paid the admission price so to speak....

[JDR]

9 hours ago, danimal03 said:

Thank you for the recent add. Stellar artifacts! I think Polar Bear relics are some of the most historic relics from WWI.  I have a tunic and unusual helmet in my collection I will add to given the chance.  I missed a Polar Bear Purple Heart about 3 years ago.  It sold before I saw it.  Only one I have EVER seen.  I would have paid the admission price so to speak....

@danimal03

 

Thanks! Would love to see your helmet and tunic with those wheat seeds. You said the helmet has the "Russia" stenciled across the top of the right? I think the only place I have seen PH medals from the expedition is at the MI Heroes Museum.

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[JDR]

Greetings!

 

Decided to practice my skills in QGIS 3.38.0 by putting together a simple map covering some interesting battles & events that Private Eugene wrote about in his diary. This was done to the best of my knowledge by referencing Eugene's diary, "M" Company 339th Infantry in Northern Russia by Captain Joel Moore, and James Carl Nelson's The Polar Bear Expedition, The Heroes of America's Forgotten Invasion of Russia 1918-1919. Please let me know if I need to make any corrections!

 

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[GWS]

I had a copy of 'M' Co. by Capt. Joel Moore. I sent it to the granddaughter a a private in M Co. who still lives in Michigan. Before I sent it, I made a copy of the entire book. Here's the diary part below.   Would Sept. 11(First  Engagement with Enemy)  be considered an event? or battle?  Nice looking map by the way!

[JDR]

11 hours ago, GWS said:

I had a copy of 'M' Co. by Capt. Joel Moore. I sent it to the granddaughter a a private in M Co. who still lives in Michigan. Before I sent it, I made a copy of the entire book. Here's the diary part below.   Would Sept. 11(First  Engagement with Enemy)  be considered an event? or battle?  Nice looking map by the way!

@GWS,

 

Nice, and thank you! Eugene’s grouping didn’t come with an original copy unfortunately, just a scanned and reprinted version that I think someone added. The segment near the end with the dates was very helpful in cross referencing Eugene’s diary with what was written by Captain Moore.

 

The engagement on September 11th 1918 is not included in the map because Private Eugene was not present in Russia nor the 339th Infantry Regiment when it occurred. He was among the 40 or so transfers who were pulled out of the 85th Division in France and made up Fourth Platoon of Company M. Eugene originally was serving in the 340th Infantry Regiment and didn’t make it to Russia until October 1st 1918.

 

Hope that makes sense! I made this map to serve alongside Eugene’s diary entries hence why other battles and events might be missing. This also got shared with his family and his Findagrave profile as well.
 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[JDR]

Greetings,

 

Figure I would share this here real quick. I have been putting together a research binder for Eugene's descendants and built a little collage for the front cover. 

 

 

Best Regards,

-J.D.

[Ontos]

Wow.  Thank you for posting this.  I was unaware of this aspect of the War.  Yiu have sparked my interest to do additional research.  

[prmccoy]

This is tremendous. There is a memorial in my hometown where many of these men were buried after the Army returned for them. The only did this as you're most likely all aware after public outcry.

 

Quote

The monument honors the "Polar Bears," a group of roughly 5,500 soldiers, 75% of them mostly from Michigan, who were sent to Arkhangelsk Oblast in northern Russia in 1918 towards the end of World War I. These soldiers were chosen because being from Michigan it was expected they could handle temperatures of Russia better than most. The Polar Bears were composed of the 339th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion of 310th Engineers and 337th Ambulance and Hospital companies.  Their service beginning August of 1918 was to intervene in the Russian Civil War. The idea of intervention was to help prevent a reopen of the Eastern Front by stalling the German Empire's advance. September of 1918, the soldiers entered the theater and fought alongside Russian, French, and British forces against Bolshevik revolutionaries for seven months in the frigid temperatures of the Arkhangelsk Oblast region. Temperatures at times had dropped to 56 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. The 339th Infantry Regiment of the 85th Division fought their last of the battle in April, 1919. July of 1919 they were finally sent home. 94 soldiers killed in action before the United States decided to withdraw. Public attention was drawn to the expedition in 1929 when two commissions, one appointed by the governor of Michigan and the other organized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the War Department, went to Arkhangelsk to recover the bodies of American soldiers killed in the expedition. 56 of the 86 remains they found were returned for burial with honors around the Polar Bear Memorial, which was dedicated four days after Memorial Day, 1930. Every year on Memorial Day the Polar Bear Memorial Association has a Memorial Service at the monument. The memorial has been designated a Historic Site by the State of Michigan. The black granite base of the memorial is to symbolize a fortress, and the cross and helmet represent a war burial of an American Expeditionary Force soldier whom paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Northern Russia campaign. The snarling polar bear made out of Georgian marble watches over the soldiers graves who are laid to rest in direct proximity. The memorial was sculpted by the French sculptor Leon Harmant.