Walenty and the ANREF (Polar Bear Expedition)

     When I get an urge to become more organized, and begin going through papers, photos and other stuff in my genealogy files, without fail I get sidetracked by something interesting. Such was the case when I came across this invaluable gift from my aunt - WWI dog tags that belonged to my grandfather, Walenty Janus. I had seen his draft registration card online but had no idea about the scope of his participation in the war.  So, hoping against hope to get a clue, I Googled the numbers that were etched on the tags: 339th Infantry Regiment, Co. E. which resulted in way more than a clue - I hit pay dirt! And now I know my grandfather just a little bit better.

     Walenty immigrated to the U.S. in 1910 at the age of twenty, most likely leaving his homeland of Poland because of economic oppression, unemployment and to escape mandatory conscription into the Russian army. He worked in a furniture factory until he was drafted into the U.S. army and was trained in England, along with many other first generation immigrants from the Detroit/Grand Rapids area, for the 339th Infantry Regiment.  Valued for their ethnicity, they were chosen for the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (ANREF), whose mission was to secure the northern Russian ports of Archangelsk and Murmanks. The crossing of swamps and dense forests, and mismanagement by their British commander, played havoc with the operation, and many soldiers died from disease and exposure. Their incompetent general was replaced and the expedition then endured an extremely harsh winter and fierce combat with the Bolsheviks until the fighting in Europe ended in November 1918. The 339th returned to the U.S. one year after departing for Europe and demobilized. As a testament to its service in the icy clime of North Russia, the members were awarded a unit insignia of a polar bear and the regiment's motto "Bayonet Decides" in Russian.*
     So that's the story of Walenty's military career in a nutshell - the details are obviously more prodigious but to me, the gist of this narrative is paradoxical: a young man departs Europe to avoid Russia and ends up returning to the very same. I wonder how he felt about that and I wonder too at all the unknown complexites that form a person's life.

*Sources for photos and information: "On Point - The Online Journal of Army History" 

and the Library of The University of Michigan