so long as the world will stand: the story of kentucky’s polar bear expedition veterans of world war i

At the end of World War I, the United States joined an ＂Allied Intervention＂ based at Archangel, Russia, ultimately sending over 6,000 American troops to serve under overall British command. Assigned a mission to protect storehouses of munitions and supplies from German forces, the Americans of the 339th Infantry Regiment and its support units were instead thrown into combat in the middle of a Russian civil war - the only American troops ever to fight Russian troops on Russian soil. Though the 339th was a Michigan-based regiment, by circumstance over 220 Kentuckians, representing 106 of the state’s 120 counties, were assigned to this force. For the first time, their particular story is presented, using their diaries, letters, articles from their hometown newspapers, and resources that were previously unavailable for nearly a century. Seventeen of the Kentuckians lost their lives as a result of this posting, and many more were injured, several being permanently disabled. Many were decorated for valor in action, including one ＂Distinguished Service Cross＂ and one ＂Silver Star＂ - the latter being presented to the soldier’s descendants over a century after the fact.