WEBVTT 00:00:05.230 --> 00:00:09.029 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:09.029 --> 00:00:15.150 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good 00:00:15.150 --> 00:00:18.609 day. I'm Jim Fausone. I'm the Officer of the 00:00:18.609 --> 00:00:20.710 Deck today here on Veterans Radio, and thanks 00:00:20.710 --> 00:00:23.460 for joining us. We've got some interesting stories 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:25.640 for you. We always want to remind you, you can 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.739 find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:32.420 site or at the web, veteransradio .org, where 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.259 we're on the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:38.299 our podcasts there as well. We post new ones 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.479 every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.219 new interview, something you didn't know before 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:49.460 by going to veteransradio .org. 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Also, uniquely, 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:25.879 there's going to be an opportunity to fly in 00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:29.099 a UH -1 Huey from the Michigan Flight Museum 00:02:29.099 --> 00:02:32.240 and maybe you can also win a free ride that way. 00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:36.620 But plan on supporting Veterans Radio either 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:40.180 by buying tickets or sponsoring Radio on the 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:45.319 River. Contact us at Dale at VeteransRadio .org 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:48.800 or Jim at VeteransRadio .org to get more information 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:51.719 but we'd love to have you come out and we'd certainly 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:54.599 love to have you sponsor. We just want to remind 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:59.099 you that Veterans Radio podcasts are available 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:02.580 on all your favorite streaming platforms including 00:03:02.580 --> 00:03:09.360 RSS .com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, 00:03:09.419 --> 00:03:12.740 iHeartRadio, and Reeves Across America radio. 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:16.099 So wherever you are, you can find us, whether 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:19.219 it's on your mobile phone or your computer or 00:03:19.219 --> 00:03:22.939 your laptop or tablet, but listen in to Veterans 00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:25.699 Radio podcast. We post something new every week 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:29.319 and you're going to find it informative. Imagine 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:32.280 American soldiers fighting not on the Western 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:36.129 Front. against the Germans in World War I, but 00:03:36.129 --> 00:03:39.150 deep in the frozen landscapes of Russia. And 00:03:39.150 --> 00:03:41.990 here's the really surprising part. Their mission, 00:03:41.990 --> 00:03:44.069 well, it dramatically changed after they even 00:03:44.069 --> 00:03:46.789 arrived. Yeah, that's the crux of it. Welcome 00:03:46.789 --> 00:03:50.129 to the Deep Dive. Today, we're plunging into 00:03:50.129 --> 00:03:53.930 a pretty little known chapter of American military 00:03:53.930 --> 00:03:57.930 history. the American Expeditionary Force, North 00:03:57.930 --> 00:04:00.289 Russia. More famously known as the Polar Bear 00:04:00.289 --> 00:04:03.289 Expedition. Exactly, the Polar Bears. We've pulled 00:04:03.289 --> 00:04:06.509 together insights from, you know, detailed historical 00:04:06.509 --> 00:04:09.069 accounts to really map out the incredible journey 00:04:09.069 --> 00:04:11.969 of these 5000 U .S. Army troops. Quite a story. 00:04:12.129 --> 00:04:14.800 Our mission today is clear. We want to understand 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:18.199 the unexpected reasons these soldiers were sent, 00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:20.759 what unbelievable challenges they faced up there 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.459 in the harsh Russian North, and, well, the lasting 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:26.120 impact of their truly forgotten fight. Forgotten 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:28.120 is the right word for it. Get ready for some 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:32.500 powerful insights because this story is far stranger 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:35.019 and more compelling than fiction. So let's start 00:04:35.019 --> 00:04:37.879 at the beginning. Who exactly were these polar 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:40.319 bears? Well, you're talking about a contingent 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:44.360 of about 5 ,000 US Army troops. They became known 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:47.420 as the American Expeditionary Force in North 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:50.500 Russia. OK, 5 ,000 troops. Yeah. And they weren't 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:52.779 just any soldiers. They pretty quickly earned 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:56.100 some unique nicknames. Detroit's own was one. 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:58.879 Ah, because many were from Michigan. Exactly. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.879 And of course, polar bears. Their motto really 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:04.800 encapsulates their spirit. We finish with the 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.120 bayonet. Wow. We finished with the bayonet. That 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:09.680 immediately tells you something about the kind 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.939 of grit they needed. For sure. They were active 00:05:11.939 --> 00:05:15.819 for just over a year, from August 2, 1918 to 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:18.600 August 5, 1919. Just over a year. But what's 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:20.899 really striking here is why they were sent to 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:22.980 Russia in the first place. Expert, what were 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:25.199 the, like, the official intentions behind sending 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:27.379 them? That's the core question, really, because 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:29.600 the initial intentions were so different from 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:31.399 the reality they actually encountered on the 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:33.740 ground. President Woodrow Wilson sent them, but 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:36.180 it was at the specific request of Great Britain 00:05:36.180 --> 00:05:38.500 and France. OK, so the Allies asked for them. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:42.279 Yes. And the stated objectives for this Allied 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:45.899 intervention were basically twofold. First, to 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:48.720 prevent Allied war material stockpiled in Archangelsk 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:52.339 supplies originally meant for the Eastern Front, 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:54.920 which had collapsed from falling into either 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.610 German or, importantly, Bolshevik hands. And 00:05:57.610 --> 00:05:59.569 just to clarify for everyone listening, when 00:05:59.569 --> 00:06:01.709 we say Bolsheviks, we're talking about the communist 00:06:01.709 --> 00:06:04.290 revolutionary forces gaining power in Russia 00:06:04.290 --> 00:06:06.230 then. Exactly. The forces that would eventually 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:08.589 form the Soviet Union. And the second objective 00:06:08.589 --> 00:06:12.490 was to mount an offensive to rescue the Czechoslovak 00:06:12.490 --> 00:06:14.509 Legion. The Czech Legion. Who were they? They 00:06:14.509 --> 00:06:17.189 were a group of former Austro -Hungarian POWs 00:06:17.189 --> 00:06:19.529 and defectors trying to fight their way out of 00:06:19.529 --> 00:06:21.790 Russia. They were sort of stranded along the 00:06:21.790 --> 00:06:24.990 Trans -Siberian Railroad. OK, so two clear goals. 00:06:25.399 --> 00:06:28.420 guard supplies, rescue the checks. But I know 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:31.560 there was a significant caveat from President 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.220 Wilson. What was his strict condition for American 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:36.800 involvement? Yeah, this is absolutely critical. 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:39.759 President Wilson agreed to American participation 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.920 only with the clear understanding, the explicit 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:45.959 stipulation that U .S. troops would solely be 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:48.779 used for guarding those stockpiled war materials. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.600 Only guarding, nothing else. He was apparently 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:54.639 very firm about that. These specific units, like 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:58.040 the 339th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.079 of the 310th Engineers, they were actually pulled 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.560 from the pipeline heading to the Western Front 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:06.339 in France. So they were diverted? Diverted, yes. 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:08.360 They got trained and re -outfitted in England, 00:07:08.680 --> 00:07:10.699 even given Russian guns, which is interesting. 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:13.540 Then they arrived in Arkhangelsk on September 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:16.620 4th, 1918, and were placed under British command. 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.170 OK, so they're diverted from France. get Russian 00:07:19.170 --> 00:07:21.269 guns, train for this specific guarding mission, 00:07:21.589 --> 00:07:24.730 and land in Arkangelsk September 4th. But you 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:26.629 mentioned the British commanders got there a 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:28.850 month earlier. Right, August 2nd. What did the 00:07:28.850 --> 00:07:30.930 British find that just changed everything? This 00:07:30.930 --> 00:07:33.329 is the real twist, maybe the first big aha moment 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:35.230 here. When the British commanders leading the 00:07:35.230 --> 00:07:37.670 Allied intervention arrived in Arkangelsk on 00:07:37.670 --> 00:07:41.449 August 2nd, they made a, well, a shocking discovery. 00:07:41.670 --> 00:07:44.610 Which was? The Allied war material, the stuff 00:07:44.610 --> 00:07:47.379 they were supposed to guard. It had already been 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.839 moved up the Divina River by the retreating Bolshevik 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:53.019 forces. Wait, moved before the Americans even 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:55.139 got the order? Before the British commanders 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:57.060 really got settled and definitely before the 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.839 Americans arrived. The very reason Wilson agreed 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:03.720 to send them was effectively gone. vanished. 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:06.800 So the supplies they were strictly told to guard 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:09.100 were gone before the American troops even set 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:11.639 foot in Russia. That must have been a seismic 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:13.839 shock. Absolutely. Imagine getting there for 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:16.459 a specific job and the job doesn't exist anymore. 00:08:16.750 --> 00:08:18.930 So what did that immediate contradiction mean 00:08:18.930 --> 00:08:21.649 for the troops arriving on September 4th, thinking 00:08:21.649 --> 00:08:24.209 they were there to guard supplies? It meant an 00:08:24.209 --> 00:08:27.649 immediate, like 180 degree turn in their mission, 00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:30.110 despite President Wilson's very clear orders. 00:08:30.769 --> 00:08:32.590 With nothing left to guard, when the American 00:08:32.590 --> 00:08:34.990 troops arrived a month after the British, they 00:08:34.990 --> 00:08:38.149 were immediately thrown into offensive operations 00:08:38.149 --> 00:08:41.110 against the Bolsheviks. They were tasked with 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:43.370 aiding in that other objective, the rescue of 00:08:43.370 --> 00:08:47.000 the Czech Legion. The 1st Battalion of the 339th 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.360 Infantry was sent up the Vivina River, and the 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:51.559 3rd Battalion went up the Vallogde Railroad line. 00:08:52.259 --> 00:08:54.600 They were actively pushing back Bolshevik forces 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.259 for about six weeks. Hold on. So, diverted from 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:01.399 France, given Russian guns, told, guard supplies 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:04.539 only, they arrive... The supplies are gone, and 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:06.360 they're immediately sent into combat against 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:09.240 the Bolsheviks. That's exactly it. A total departure 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:11.360 from guarding supplies. What were the conditions 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.700 like on the ground once they were actually fighting? 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.000 Oh, brutal. Absolutely brutal. These two fronts 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.059 they were fighting on became incredibly stretched 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:21.559 out, hundreds of miles long in total. Hundreds 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.139 of miles. Yeah, in very narrow corridors through 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:27.919 forests and along rivers. It made them extremely 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.940 difficult, almost impossible to supply properly, 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:33.299 to maintain, and definitely to protect. That 00:09:33.299 --> 00:09:35.889 sounds like a logistical nightmare. It was. And 00:09:35.889 --> 00:09:39.190 by the end of October 1918, they just couldn't 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:41.110 sustain the offensive anymore. They hit a wall. 00:09:41.549 --> 00:09:43.610 The allies had to switch to a defensive posture, 00:09:44.149 --> 00:09:46.049 completely abandoning that goal of linking up 00:09:46.049 --> 00:09:47.970 with the Czech Legion. And then winter hit. And 00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:51.029 then the Russian winter hit hard. On top of that, 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:53.250 the Bolshevik army launched their own offensive, 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:56.690 especially along the Baga River sector. This 00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.289 inflicted pretty significant casualties and forced 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:02.370 repeated allied retreats, all in these incredibly 00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:05.539 harsh, freezing conditions. The human cost of 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:08.860 this, this completely transformed, almost impossible 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:11.240 mission must have been immense. What were the 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:12.980 casualty numbers looking like? They were stark, 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:16.740 really stark. More than 210 American forces suffered 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:19.919 casualties overall. That included at least 110 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:22.399 deaths directly from battle, about 30 listed 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:24.419 as missing in action. Missing in action in that 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:26.899 environment. Yeah, grim prospects. And then a 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:30.149 significant number, 70 deaths from disease. And 00:10:30.149 --> 00:10:32.610 get this, 90 % of those disease deaths were due 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:34.570 to the Spanish flu. The pandemic reached them 00:10:34.570 --> 00:10:37.490 even up there. Well, it did. There was a later, 00:10:37.529 --> 00:10:40.289 more comprehensive report from October 1919 that 00:10:40.289 --> 00:10:44.570 gave even higher figures. A total of 553 casualties. 00:10:44.769 --> 00:10:47.389 So high of around 53. Yeah. Broken down, 109 00:10:47.389 --> 00:10:50.490 killed in battle, 35 died of wounds later, 81 00:10:50.490 --> 00:10:53.690 from disease, 19 from accidents or other causes, 00:10:54.230 --> 00:10:57.210 305 wounded, and four who were prisoners of war 00:10:57.210 --> 00:11:00.169 but eventually released. Those numbers are really 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:02.549 sobering, especially for a force of 5 ,000 in 00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:05.450 that time frame. Beyond the physical toll, though, 00:11:05.490 --> 00:11:07.509 what did this shifting mission and then the end 00:11:07.509 --> 00:11:10.409 of the wider war do to the morale of the soldiers 00:11:10.409 --> 00:11:12.809 still stuck fighting in Russia? That's such an 00:11:12.809 --> 00:11:14.789 important question. After the armistice with 00:11:14.789 --> 00:11:17.649 Germany was signed on November 11, 1918... The 00:11:17.649 --> 00:11:20.210 main war is over. Exactly. The war they thought 00:11:20.210 --> 00:11:22.789 they were part of was over. Morale among these 00:11:22.789 --> 00:11:25.190 American soldiers in North Russia just absolutely 00:11:25.190 --> 00:11:27.330 plummeted. You can imagine. They legitimately 00:11:27.330 --> 00:11:29.250 questioned why they were still fighting Bolsheviks 00:11:29.250 --> 00:11:31.409 in the middle of Russia. Yeah. Why are we here? 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:34.049 Precisely. Especially after the armistice was 00:11:34.049 --> 00:11:36.350 signed. And on top of that, the port of Arkhangelsk 00:11:36.350 --> 00:11:38.210 froze over for the winter, essentially trapping 00:11:38.210 --> 00:11:40.450 them there. Trapped in fighting a war that wasn't 00:11:40.450 --> 00:11:42.990 theirs anymore, technically. Right. And they 00:11:42.990 --> 00:11:45.950 received no clear answers from command about 00:11:45.950 --> 00:11:48.610 why they had to stay. Just... basically told 00:11:48.610 --> 00:11:51.210 they had to keep fighting to survive. Imagine 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:53.549 that feeling, being stuck in a conflict that, 00:11:53.669 --> 00:11:56.730 for everyone else, had ended months ago. In this 00:11:56.730 --> 00:11:59.090 frustration, it wasn't just contained among the 00:11:59.090 --> 00:12:00.690 troops, right? Didn't pressure start building 00:12:00.690 --> 00:12:02.750 back home in the U .S.? Oh, absolutely. It became 00:12:02.750 --> 00:12:05.909 a real issue stateside. Family members, friends, 00:12:06.190 --> 00:12:07.850 they started writing these really passionate 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:10.730 letters to newspapers. They circulated petitions 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:13.070 to their congressmen, demanding the force be 00:12:13.070 --> 00:12:16.129 brought home immediately. So public outcry was 00:12:16.129 --> 00:12:18.570 growing. Definitely. Newspapers started running 00:12:18.570 --> 00:12:21.210 editorials calling for their withdrawal. Congressmen 00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:23.570 were raising the issue in Washington. The pressure 00:12:23.570 --> 00:12:27.730 really mounted and it led to instances of rumored 00:12:27.730 --> 00:12:29.769 and even some actual mutinies among the troops 00:12:29.769 --> 00:12:33.389 in early 1919. Mutinies. Really. There's one 00:12:33.389 --> 00:12:36.009 specific pretty poignant case involving four 00:12:36.009 --> 00:12:39.269 American soldiers from Company B of the 339th 00:12:39.269 --> 00:12:42.409 Infantry. They actually drew up a petition asking 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:44.830 when they were going home. Just asking? Just 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:46.909 asking, basically. And they were threatened with 00:12:46.909 --> 00:12:49.090 court martial proceedings for doing it. Wow. 00:12:49.470 --> 00:12:51.350 Threatened with court martial for asking to go 00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:54.029 home after the war ended. That really highlights 00:12:54.029 --> 00:12:56.070 the desperation and confusion they must have 00:12:56.070 --> 00:12:57.970 felt. It does. It shows how tense things got. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.480 So with all that pressure, both on the ground 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:04.559 and back home, what was the path home finally 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.820 like for these polar bears? Well, the long road 00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:10.200 home was finally authorized. President Wilson 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:11.919 directed the War Department to start planning 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:14.779 the withdrawal of the AEF in North Russia on 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:18.159 February 16, 1919. OK, so Wilson gives the order 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:21.379 in February 19. Yes. Then U .S. Army Brigadier 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:24.440 General Wildes P. Richardson arrived in Arkangelsk 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:27.899 on April 17th. He had orders to organize a coordinated 00:13:27.899 --> 00:13:29.759 withdrawal, basically as quickly as possible 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:31.500 given the conditions. Did they need help getting 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:33.879 out? They did. The British sent the North Russian 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:36.539 relief force, about 8 ,000 British volunteers, 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:40.820 who started arriving on May 26, 1919. Their specific 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:42.740 job was to relieve the American troops that they 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:45.340 could pull out. So relief finally arrived in 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:47.659 late May. When did the polar bears actually make 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:50.620 it back to U .S. soil? The bulk of the AEF were 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.139 finally able to sail. First they went to Brest 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:56.600 in France and then onward to New York City. For 00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:58.799 about two -thirds of them though, their actual 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:00.820 home was Michigan, which is why they were called 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:03.480 Detroit's Own. Right. The first large group of 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:07.340 troops, 46 officers and nearly 1 ,500 men, arrived 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:10.360 back in Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the ship Von 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:15.299 Steuben on July 15th, 1919. July 1919. So almost 00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:17.960 a year after they arrived. Exactly. And it was 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:20.019 actually during this withdrawal period on the 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:22.899 way home that the men themselves officially decided 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:26.519 to adopt the name polar bears. Ah, so they claimed 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:28.580 the name themselves. They did. And they were 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:30.679 authorized to wear that distinctive polar bear 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.360 insignia on their left sleeve. The force was 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:36.480 then officially disbanded on August 5th, 1919. 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:38.940 That's a powerful moment, isn't it? Taking ownership 00:14:38.940 --> 00:14:41.720 of that unique, incredibly tough identity. But 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:44.240 looking at the bigger picture, how was this whole 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:46.980 expedition? ultimately viewed back home once 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:48.960 the dust settled. Well, connecting this to the 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:50.820 broader political landscape, the whole idea, 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:53.039 the very notion of this expedition was later 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.340 called into serious question right at the highest 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:57.960 levels. Several years after the troops returned, 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:00.360 President Warren G. Harding actually referred 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:03.799 to the expedition publicly as a mistake. Harding 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:06.159 called it a mistake. He did, yeah. And he directly 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.419 placed the blame for it on the previous administration, 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:11.610 on Woodrow Wilson's administration. Interesting. 00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:15.070 And the aftermath of this, well, this forgotten 00:15:15.070 --> 00:15:18.190 fight, it also involved a really long, tough 00:15:18.190 --> 00:15:20.870 quest to honor the fallen, particularly those 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:22.870 soldiers left behind in Russia. Can you tell 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:25.950 us about that effort? It's an incredible story 00:15:25.950 --> 00:15:28.710 of dedication, really. Starting around 1920, 00:15:29.149 --> 00:15:31.389 the Polar Bear veterans themselves began this 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:33.990 tireless campaign. They lobbied their state governments, 00:15:34.330 --> 00:15:35.990 the federal government, anyone who would listen, 00:15:36.009 --> 00:15:38.529 basically, to retrieve the bodies of their comrades 00:15:38.529 --> 00:15:40.860 they believe were still buried in Russia. How 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:43.179 many were thought to be left behind? Initially, 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:45.940 the estimate was around 125. That number got 00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:48.659 refined over time. They thought maybe 226 had 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:50.500 been buried there originally. And by the time 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:53.240 they started this effort, maybe about 130 sets 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.580 of US soldier remains were still believed to 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:58.029 be in North Russia. That must have been incredibly 00:15:58.029 --> 00:16:00.389 difficult, especially given the political situation 00:16:00.389 --> 00:16:02.929 between the US and the new Soviet Union. Oh, 00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:06.070 hugely difficult, primarily because the US didn't 00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:08.450 even have diplomatic recognition with the Soviet 00:16:08.450 --> 00:16:10.909 Union at the time. It made any official effort 00:16:10.909 --> 00:16:13.169 extremely complicated. So how did they manage? 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:16.409 Despite the challenges, the veterans of foreign 00:16:16.409 --> 00:16:19.250 wars, the VFW, actually sponsored a recovery 00:16:19.250 --> 00:16:22.470 mission in the autumn of 1929 and remarkably 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:24.710 It was successful. They actually got remains 00:16:24.710 --> 00:16:27.769 back. They did. They managed to find and bring 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:31.610 out the remains of 86 U .S. soldiers. Then a 00:16:31.610 --> 00:16:34.730 few years later in 1934, the Soviet Union shipped 00:16:34.730 --> 00:16:37.870 an additional 14 sets of remains. Wow. Yeah. 00:16:38.009 --> 00:16:40.070 So that significantly reduced the number still 00:16:40.070 --> 00:16:42.649 thought to be in Russia down to maybe about 30. 00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:45.070 It's just a true testament to the dedication 00:16:45.070 --> 00:16:47.570 of those veterans and their families. Never giving 00:16:47.570 --> 00:16:50.100 up. That is a powerful legacy of remembrance, 00:16:50.299 --> 00:16:52.340 and didn't it culminate in a specific memorial 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:55.519 back in Michigan? It did, yes. In a really deeply 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.580 moving ceremony on Memorial Day, May 30, 1930, 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:01.940 the remains of 56 of those returned AEF soldiers 00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:04.720 were reburied together. They're interred around 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.279 the Polar Bear Memorial at Whitechapel Memorial 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.680 Cemetery in Troy, Michigan. A central place of 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:13.039 remembrance. Exactly. A powerful, tangible symbol 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.680 for a conflict that, for the most part, was largely 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:18.390 forgotten by the wider American public. And just 00:17:18.390 --> 00:17:21.490 as final note on that human connection, the very 00:17:21.490 --> 00:17:24.349 last known living American veteran who fought 00:17:24.349 --> 00:17:26.869 in that intervention near Arkanelsk, a man named 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:30.250 Harold Guns. He was born way back in 1899. He 00:17:30.250 --> 00:17:32.869 lived to be 103 years old, passing away just 00:17:32.869 --> 00:17:37.250 in March 2003. 103, wow. The last witness to 00:17:37.250 --> 00:17:38.829 that whole experience. Pretty incredible, isn't 00:17:38.829 --> 00:17:41.609 it? So when we wrap this up, what does this deep 00:17:41.609 --> 00:17:43.470 dive into the polar bear expedition really mean 00:17:43.470 --> 00:17:45.309 for us today, looking back? What's the takeaway? 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.730 I think it really shows us that Even within these 00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:50.230 monumental global conflicts like World War I 00:17:50.230 --> 00:17:52.869 that we study so much, there are often these 00:17:52.869 --> 00:17:54.950 lesser -known, incredibly complex, sometimes 00:17:54.950 --> 00:17:57.349 confusing chapters. Hidden stories within the 00:17:57.349 --> 00:17:59.789 big story. Exactly. And it's such a powerful 00:17:59.789 --> 00:18:02.490 reminder that soldiers on the ground, the individuals, 00:18:02.849 --> 00:18:05.410 can face these dramatically shifting objectives, 00:18:06.069 --> 00:18:08.809 unimaginable conditions, and a really uncertain 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:12.859 return home. all while huge global events are 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:15.039 unfolding around them, it really highlights the 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:17.299 human element in military history, which sometimes 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:19.599 gets lost in the strategy talk. It really does. 00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:22.240 This story makes you truly wonder, doesn't it? 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:24.380 Beyond the grand strategies and the official 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:26.160 pronouncements from presidents and generals. 00:18:26.829 --> 00:18:29.390 How many other deep dives into history might 00:18:29.390 --> 00:18:32.210 reveal similar missions? Missions where the soldiers 00:18:32.210 --> 00:18:34.369 on the ground, maybe they truly didn't understand 00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:36.329 why they were fighting anymore, only that they 00:18:36.329 --> 00:18:38.950 had to survive? What other forgotten chapters 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:41.509 of courage and maybe confusion are just waiting 00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:44.289 to be uncovered? And I want to thank everybody 00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:47.109 for listening to Veterans Radio today. I am Jim 00:18:47.109 --> 00:18:49.970 Fossone. It's been a pleasure to be your host. 00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:52.809 I'm a veterans disability lawyer at Legal Help 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:56.839 for Veterans, and you can reach us at 800 - 693 00:18:56.839 --> 00:19:01.660 -4800 or legalhelpforveterans .com on the web. 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:05.160 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.180 listen to its podcasts and internet radio shows 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:12.259 by visiting us at veteransradio .org. That's 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:16.619 veteransradio .org. We again want to thank our 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:19.420 national sponsors, the National Veterans Business 00:19:19.420 --> 00:19:24.680 Development Council, NVBDC .org, Legal Help for 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:28.490 Veterans, A Veterans Disability Law Firm with 00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:33.029 a national practice before the VA can help you 00:19:33.029 --> 00:19:37.029 on your claims and your appeals. 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