Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Member of the 339th Infantry, Supply Company who took part in the Polar Bear Expedition in Northern Russia. Photo album contains group and individual portraits of the 339th Infantry Supply Company members, street views of Archangel, Russia, photos of barracks and other structures; newspaper clippings depicting return of the recovered bodies of the fallen Polar Bears Expedition soldiers to Detroit; and several portraits of Walter Smith taken later in his life.

Photo album contains group and individual portraits of the 339th Infantry Supply Company members, street views of Archangel, Russia, photos of barracks and other structures; newspaper clippings depicting return of the recovered bodies of the fallen Polar Bears Expedition soldiers to Detroit; and several portraits of Walter Smith taken later in his life.

Detroit attorney, assistant U. S. Prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East following World War II; correspondence and official court materials largely relating to Japanese intervention in Manchuria; materials relating to service in Polar Expedition to northern Russian during World War I; miscellaneous papers relating to other political and legal activities; and photographs.

The bulk of the collection consists largely of materials created as a result of the Japanese War Crimes Trials. The collection has been arranged into eight series: Biographical/Personal; Correspondence; Articles, Speeches, etc.; International Military Tribunal for the Far East, International Prosecution Section; University of Michigan; World War I (Polar Bear Expedition); Miscellaneous; and Photographs. Only the Polar Bear material and some biographical material has been digitized and can be viewed here. Researchers must visit the library to view the rest of McKenzie's collection. The Polar Bear materials consist of a diary, June 1918-July 1919, describing his voyage to Russia, his stay in a Red Cross Hospital there, routine work at headquarters, life in Archangel, a supply trip up the Dvina River in a gunboat in June 1919, and the voyage home. Also included are correspondence, June 1918-July 1919, describing life at Camp Custer, the voyage to Russia, life in Archangel, civilian conditions there, his ambition to go to the front, and his boat trip up the river. Other materials include ca. 30 picture postcards of Archangel, Murmansk, and countryside scenes, an issue of The Call, an English-language Bolshevik newspaper published in Moscow, a copy of the constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, an issue of The Mess Kit and one of the Daily Communique, both published in France for American soldiers, consisting of poems, and miscellaneous programs, clippings, and rosters.

Typescript of diary of Pepin's military service.

Typescript of diary of Pepin's military service; also Russian postcards and photographs of Pepin.

Harold Green was a Mount Clemens, Michigan, optometrist who served with the U.S. Army 339th Medical Detachment during the American intervention at Archangel, Russia. This collection contains a typescript copy of his diary, containing generally brief entries describing his actions in Russia.

Diary and typescript containing generally brief entries describing his actions in Russia; also, photographs.

Collected materials include Civil War diary (1863) of William Harts, soldier with Co. B, 1st Michigan Infantry; also papers of Leon Bell, member of 339th Infantry (Polar Bears) sent to northern Russia after World War I.

Charles Douglas Roe (1895-1931) was a soldier in the 4th Platoon, Company I of the 339th Infantry during World War I. He served in the war from December 18, 1917 until July 23, 1919 and was stationed in Northern Russia for nine months. His company was called Detroit's own, The Polar Bear. Collection includes photocopies of group portraits of the 339th Infantry, Company I while stationed overseas during World War I, a photocopy of Roe's services card, and his obituary.

Photocopies of group portraits of the 339th Infantry, Company I while stationed overseas during World War I, a photocopy of Roe's services card, and his obituary.

Papers of a soldier who served as a cook in the 310th Engineer Regiment, Company B during the American intervention in North Russia, 1918-1920.

This collection contains digital reproductions; the original papers and/or photographs are owned by the donor. The digital items in this collection were digitized from originals by the individual donors before being received by the Bentley Historical Library. Preservation copies of these files with their original file names and CD-ROM file structures intact have been submitted to Deep Blue. Access copies of these digital files can be viewed by clicking on the links next to the individual folders in the Content List below.

In this finding aid, the files have been arranged into one series, Postcards. Within this series, files are listed numerically according to the file arrangement they were given by the donor. The files in this collection are in JPG format.

Files include three digitized postcards sent by Cogswell while he was serving in Russia. All three postcards feature maritime scenes of Archangel. The messages on the postcard are dated October 3, October 7, and November 22, 1918.

Microfilm of reports, studies, memorandums and other records from the Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I), 1917-23, record group 120 in the National Archives.

Creation of Historical Files

The Historical Branch, War Plans Division, 1918-21, and its successor, the Historical Section of the Army War College, 1921- 42, created the Historical Files of the AEF, North Russia. These historical units collected, preserved, indexed, and published documents of historical value relating to the American effort in World War I. In the course of its duties the Historical Branch began collecting and classifying documents of the North Russian intervention about 1920. The first page or cover sheet of many of the documents in this series bear the stamp "HISTORICAL BRANCH" and immediately below the stamp the file designation "57" and another number. The Historical Section of the Army War College continued to add to the Historical Files of the AEF, North Russia, during the 1920's and 1930's. The records comprising the Historical File came from two major sources: Headquarters of AEF, North Russia, and the Military Intelligence Division of the War Department General Staff. In addition, records from several other War Department agencies are included in the series reproduced on this microfilm publication.

Arrangement

The present arrangement of these documents is according to the so-called War Department historical decimal classification scheme, a filing system devised by the Historical Section of the Army War College, which despite its name lacks certain basic elements of a true decimal classification system. According to this scheme each file designation consists of two numbers separated by a hyphen. The number before the hyphen, the master number, represents the organizational entity to which the document was assigned; the number following the hyphen, the subject number, denotes the subject matter of the document. For example, the report of the Chief Surgeon of AEF, North Russia Jonas R. Longley, on the work of the Medical Department in North Russia bears the file designation "23-43.8." The number "23" is the master number for AEF, North Russia, and "43" is the subject number for the Medical Department. The number "43.8" is the designation for Medical Department history and reports. A descriptive list of folder contents and their file designations follows these introductory remarks.

Security Classification

None of the documents reproduced on this microfilm publication are now security-classified, but at one time or another many of them were. Some documents were classified as secret or confidential at the time of their creation and had security-classification markings stamped, typed, or written on them. The Adjutant General's Office reviewed the security classification of this entire series in March 1947 and marked each folder, file cover, or document with a rectangular stamp "CLASSIFICATION CANCELLED" or "CLASSIFICATION CHANGED TO CONFIDENTIAL." Between 1947 and 1970 National Archives and Records Service (NARS) staff members reviewed and declassified a few documents as a result of specific requests made by researchers. The remaining documents were declassified in preparing this microfilm publication.

Description of Records

Among the records included in this series are the following: reports of officers of the American Military Mission to Russia concerning the morale, efficiency, and operations of the AEF, North Russia; compilations of correspondence and issuances of Allied Headquarters and of Headquarters, AEF, North Russia, documenting conditions and events occurring in the Archangel-Murmansk area; British daily and weekly intelligence summaries pertaining to military and political affairs in Russia, Siberia, Germany, and Eastern Europe; and strength reports and returns, orders of battle, and maps and charts showing the strength and deployment of Allied and Bolshevik troops in North Russia.

Two oversize photographs (original and copy) depicting Company A, 339th United States Infantry, which served in the Allied intervention in Northern Russia, 1918-1919, also known as the "Polar Bear Expedition." The original photograph was taken in June 1919 in Brest, France when the Company returned from Russia.

Photographs of memorial ceremonies at the Polar Bear Memorial in White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery, Troy, Michigan.

The collection contains photographs from unknown sources and includes scenes of the burial of the bodies returned in 1929 and memorial services at the Polar Bear Memorial at White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery.