USS Oregon in the Spanish American War

[Fred]

An old buddy of mine served in the 6/31st Infantry for a time out in the Mohave Desert at the National Training Center For Desert Warfare back in 1981 and 1982. I was in the sister unit, 1/73 Armor, which together with the NTC Battalion composed our desert warfare training unit. His unit was known as the Polar Bear something or other. They had a Polar Bear on the unit crest because of the time they were in Russia. They might've had a Polar Bear and a Palm Tree on that crest.

[butlersrangers]

The U.S. sent the 339th Infantry Regt. and 1st. Battalion 310th Engineers (part of the 85th Division from Camp Custer, Mich.) to train in England for the North Russia Expedition. They were equipped with Russian weapons, under British command, and landed at Arkhangelsk, Russia. The American component, of approximately 5,000 men, served from Sept. 1918 to July 1919. There were 235 U.S. deaths. In 1929 & 1934 about 200 bodies were recovered from Russia and returned to the U.S. (Fifty-six men were buried at the White Chapel Cemetery monument). The U.S. Troops of the North Russia Campaign were called 'Polar Bears'.

From August 1918 to April 1, 1920, there was an even larger, 7,950 man, U.S. force operating out of Vladivostok, Siberia. The 27th and 31st U.S. Regiments had been sent from the Philippines to operate with Japanese and Chinese forces. A large part of their role was to help extricate the over 56,000 soldiers of the Czechoslovak Legion, that had been part of the Czarist Russian war effort. (The Legion was making and fighting its way to Vladivostok).

The 27th and 31st regiments came equipped with U.S. weapons. One hundred and eighty-nine men of these regiments perished in Siberia. The 27th Regiment were called "Wolfhounds", for their tenacity. The 31st Regiment were nicknamed "Polar Bears".

The U.S. Servicemen of both campaigns certainly earned those Nicknames & Honors!

polar bear marker.jpgIMG_2308.jpgAmericans Vladivostok 1918.jpg

[Fred]

Wow! Thanks for sharing that!!!

[butlersrangers]

The 339th regiment and 31st regiment were both nicknamed "Polar Bears" and adopted patches incorporating a Polar Bear, after their Russian campaigns.

The 339th was called "Detroit's Own Polar Bears".

The 27th regiment was called "Wolfhounds" by Bolshevik opponents, due to their tenacity. The men took that as their nickname. A wolfhound and an 'S', for Siberia, became their logo.

photos: 1. Detroit's Own Polar Bears. 2. Reverse - Michigan Historic Marker. 3. 31st Regiment Patch. 4. 27th Regiment "Wolfhound"? (I am not sure of the last patch. Both the 27th and 31st regiments have it shown on web sites. It looks more like a Bear than a Wolfhound, to me. The "S" is for Siberia).

polar bear patch-ed.jpgpolar bear reverse.jpgpolar bears - 31st rgt.jpgSiberia 27th Wolfhound patch.jpg

[blackhawknj]

A good book about the North Russia Expedition and the 339th Infantry is The Ignorant Armies by E. M. Halliday.

[coastie]

As would the TEXAS, hull and lower decks rusting away.....

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Last time I heard, the Olympia's preservation association was in a VERY bad way, financially, and that the ship has serious issues.

While it loses something in the translation, the Japanese approach (settling the vessel on dry land - the Mikasa is not afloat) might be the way to go, long term.

As would the TEXAS, just East of Houston, rotting away when a dry dock would have preserved the ship much better

[Kragrifle]

Just read The Ignorant Armies. First published in 1858 I bought on old paperback on EBay (would never buy anything from Bezoar). Great book. If only our Ignorant Politicians could read!

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