Search Results
World War I (Polar Bear Expedition)
The World War I series pertains to McKenzie's service as a member of the Polar Bear Expedition during the last months of the First World War. Largely photocopies of materials still in family possession, this series includes correspondence to family members and a diary of his experiences. There is also some original material in this series such as postcard views of Russia and an accumulation of pamphlets and newspaper clippings. Also included are a group photo of the 339th Infantry taken July 14, 1919 at Camp Devens, reunion photos and portraits of McKenzie and others.
William R. Mielke papers, 1918-1919, 2013
17.9 MB (online)
The William R. Mielke papers consist of a single series, Military Service, which include his enlistment record, honorable discharge papers, scanned images of his service diary, and a photograph of his gravesite in Lewiston, Mich. The diary details his unit's movements from training at Camp Custer to England and on to Russia. Entries describe patrols, combat experiences, and living conditions among soldiers during the expedition.
Walter I. McKenzie Polar Bear Expedition papers, 1918-1945
19 folders — 1 oversize folder
The Walter McKenzie 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. The Walter McKenzie Collection covers many aspects of McKenzie's life in addition to the Polar Bear expedition. 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.
Walter I. McKenzie Papers, 1914-1962 (majority within 1918-1919, 1946-1947)
3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder
The Walter McKenzie 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.
Walter F. Dundon papers, 1929, 1969
2 folders
The papers contain a diary, July-Oct. 1929, describing the search for bodies, memories of the Russian people about the American soldiers, living conditions, and his memories of the area; and a typescript reminiscence, 1969, describing his mission, problems with the Russian authorities, the return of the bodies, and the reinterment ceremony at White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery.
Walter C. Smith photo album, 1917-1919, undated
1 volume
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.
Walter C. Matuszewski photograph collection, 1919
2 digital files (360 MB)
This collection contains digital records; 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, Photographs. Within each series, files are listed numerically according to the file arrangement they were given by the donor. The files in this collection are in JPG and TIFF format.
Files include digitized panoramic group photographs of Company G, 339th U.S. Infantry taken at Brest, France, June 1919.
United States Army Signal Corps photograph collection, 1918-1919
1 linear foot
About 185 photographs. The photographs include scenes of life in Archangel, armored trains, villages, port facilities, rural life, men in barracks, fortifications, prisoners, group portraits, men on patrol and in camp, the railroad, an airplane, burials, and graves. Also included is a "List of official U.S. photographs illustrative of the activities of the North Russian Expeditionary Force" which contains descriptions, including names and locations, of ca. 575 Signal Corps photos, arranged by photo number.
This being a suppliment [sic] of the Barracks bladder, of Co. B 339th Inf. ... / drawn by Wm. Henkelman., circa 1920s
1 maps (map : ms., col. ; on sheet; 46 x 61 cm.)
The collection contains a map (not drawn to scale) drawn by Henkelman showing Toulgas, Archangel District, Russia with notes describing the battle of Nov. 11-14, 1918.
Third Reunion of the Polar Bear Association and 310th Engineers, 1922
The Polar Bear, official publication, vol.1 no.1 September 1922
The call (of the workers and peasants of Russia, to their English speaking fellow workers), no.13 Dec.7, 1918
Tatos Doumanian certificate, 1919
1 item
Honorable discharge and enlistment record.
Stillman Visscher Jenks photograph collection, circa 1918
1 envelope
A portrait of Jenks.
Souvenir Folders: Life in the U.S. Army, Camp Mills, and New York City, Night Views
Soldiers and guns by railroad
Silver Parrish diary, 1918-1919
1 folder
The diary, Sept. 1918-April 1919, a photocopy, describes his sympathy for the Russian people and the Bolshevik cause, his impressions of Russian life, housing, crops, food, and marriage, as well as fighting at Seltso, Sept. and Oct. 1918, and Toulgas, Oct. 1918. He also describes the difficulties in which he found himself in March 1919, when he drew up a petition protesting the presence of American troops in Russia after the end of the war. A transcript of the petition is included. The original of the diary is owned by Parrish.
Russian Revolutionary pamphlets, Constitution (fundamental law) Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, 1918
Roy Paul Rasmussen papers, 1918-1919, undated
1 folder — 1 digital files (545 MB)
This collection contains physical files as well as digital material. In this finding aid, the collection has been arranged into two series, Papers and Visual Materials.
The Visual Materials consists of digitized images; 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 link next to the individual folder in the Content List below. Within this series, files are listed numerically according to the file arrangement they were given by the donor. The file in this collection is in TIF format. Includes a digitized portrait of Private Roy Paul Rasmussen, Co. H, 339th Infantry, in uniform, ca. 1918.
The Papers, all photocopied reproductions, include a diary, June 1918-July 1919, containing descriptions of his travels, the food and weather in Russia, and actions on the Onega front, especially fighting in and near Chekuevo, Sep. and Oct. 1918 and Jan. 1919, and at Bolshie Ozerki, March and April 1919; and a reminiscence covering the period June 1918-March 1919, probably written from the diary, that also contains a list of casualties in Co. H, descriptions of a numbered series of photos produced by the Red Cross, and two poems, "The Creation of Russia" and "The Day of Do or Die." Also included are newspaper clippings containing letters from Rasmussen describing his first days in Russia. The originals of the papers are owned by Dale Rasmussen, Shelby, Mich.
Roster, 339th Infantry, Group 145, July 6, 1919 [photocopy]
Roster, 339th Infantry, Group 145, July 6, 1919 [photocopy]
Roster, 339th Infantry, Group 145, July 6, 1919
Rodger Sherman Clark papers, 1918-1919
3 folders
The papers include correspondence, Aug. 1918-July 1919, describing mapping expeditions, weather, scenery, shopping and baths in Archangel, and Russian houses and stoves (with diagrams). Also included are an essay "What Ails the ANREF?" dated April-May 1919, describing the causes of low morale among the troops; several poems about camp life; a copy of the final report of the 310th Engineers detailing construction projects completed; and a copy of The Midnight Sun, printed on the U.S.S. Steigerwald while the troops were being returned to the United States.
Robert Colton Johnson photo album, 1917-1998 (majority within 1917-1919)
1 oversize volume — 1 folder (in one box)
The photo album documents Johnson's experience while serving with the 310th Army Engineers in Northern Russia (primarily Archangel and Solombola) from 1918 to 1919. Photographs depict the exteriors and the interiors of the American army barracks, daily military life, individual and group portraits of American soldiers and officers, and military training. The album also includes scenic views, street scenes, images of religious processions, buildings and churches in Archangel, as well as portraits of the local people. Some photographs depict representatives of the indigenous population of Russian North.
Additional materials, placed in a separate folder, include one small portrait of Johnson in uniform (1917), loose photographs from the Polar Bear Expedition period, his biography, and letters particularly pertaining to his military service. An honorable discharge certificate includes information about Johnson's military rank, medals, time spent as a member of the North Russia Expeditionary Force.
Also included is an application for a Victory Medal and a 1968 The Navy Civil Engineer article by Johnson discussing his second military career during World War II. The folder also contains a hand-drawn sketch of Johnson asking his future wife Dorothy on a date and a photocopy of a letter to Dorothy highlighting a few of his daily military duties and activities.
Robert Bruce Flack papers, circa 1950-1951
7.76 MB (online)
The Robert Bruce Flack papers consist of a two series, Photographs and Annotations.
The Photographs series contains digitized images of Robert Bruce Flack with fellow veterans and family members at Decoration Day events at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, Mich. in the early 1950s. These include several images of Flack and family members in front of the cemetery's Polar Bear Monument, which was sculpted by Leon Hermant.
The Annotations series contains digital images of notes made by Flack in his copy of The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki (1920). These annotations provide details on Flack's service as a machine gunner on the Kodish and Railroad Fronts from December 1918 through April 1919.
Reunion group photos and Miscellaneous
7 items
Reunion group photos and Miscellaneous
7 items
"Quoth the Russian: 'Harashaw'" poem, by R.S. (reprint from American Sentinel, Dec.31, 1918) & "Ode to the Shackleton Boot" by E.J.H. (American Sentinel, Dec.24, 1918)
Program of the 7th Polar Bear Association and 8th 310th Engineers reunion, 1934
Program of the 14th Polar Bear Association and 310th Engineers reunion, 1948
Printed Material
7 items
Printed Material
7 items