Merle R. Sweet of Glennie, Mich., entered military service in 1917 and was assigned to Company C of the 107th Engineer Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division. After basic training, his unit shipped off to France in the spring of 1917. Once there, the 107th Engineer Regiment’s first task was to construct pre-fabricated barracks to house the American Expeditionary Force.

Building Barricades

According to a newspaper interview of Sweet after the war, he and his fellow engineers had to do all the digging themselves with pick, shovel, axe and wheelbarrow. He said he saw his first action in northeastern France when his unit had to lay down barbed wire barricades in the area of Alsace-Lorraine. This area was a strip of land that juts into Germany and was one of the biggest prizes being contested in the war. Sweet's unit put up the barbed wire entanglements and were told that this was as far as the enemy was going to get. He said that he still could remember driving the stakes into the ground with a maul so they could wrap the wire around them. It was very hard work. 

The Fortunate Ones

Sweet recalled that his unit was one of the fortunate ones that never encountered gas warfare. With deadly mustard gas being sprayed across the trenches into “No Man's Land,” it was imperative for soldiers to wear the bug-eyed gas masks that made them look like aliens. He recalled that he had to have his gas mask with him at all times due to the constant threat of gas warfare.   

Action on the Rhine

During Sweet's time overseas, his unit stayed busy laying additional barbed wire, building defense fortifications, and repairing wrecked bridges, as well as other projects to support the 32nd Division. His unit saw action in a number of battles, and he finally ended up serving guard duty in a number of small towns along the Rhine river after the Armistice that ended World War I was signed. After the war, Sweet returned to the family farm in Alcona County, and later relocated to Bay County. He remained a very patriotic man throughout his life, attending Memorial Day veterans events right into his 90s.

Our Collection

The Michigan Traveling Military Museum is pleased to have and display the Pvt. Merle R. Sweet Company C 107th Engineer Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division grouping. It is a fitting tribute to a proud veteran of World War I.   

Edward A. Harris of Essexville, Mich., entered military service on May 25, 1918. After basic training at Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Mich., he was assigned to the U.S. 85th Infantry Division. He later was transferred to the 339th Medical detachment and became part of The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces. It is interesting to note that Harris had absolutely no medical training and was told he would just have to learn along the way. From the beginning, Harris kept a detailed diary of his time and experiences in the U.S. Army. Most of the information listed below came directly from his diary and gives a very accurate account of his experiences in Russia.

To England and Russia

Harris arrived in England on Aug. 4, 1918. While there, he completed additional training until Aug. 25 and boarded the HMT Nagoya for the trip to Russia. He arrived in Archangel, Russia, on Sept. 6, 1918. Once on shore, he was sent down the riverfront and engaged in the fighting around the town of Seletskoe in the Dvina river area from Sept. 18-Oct. 2, 1918. From there, he moved down river and fought around the town of Kodish in the Emtsa river area from Oct. 2-23, 1918. After Kodish, he spent a short amount of time in the Russian towns of Emtsa and Beresnik. By then, the weather took a turn for the worst, and he quartered in the towns of Chemova and Shushuga during the winter of 1918-19. Throughout his diary, he relates how miserable the weather was in Russia. You can tell from his tone that he did not view his experience in Russia as pleasurable. 

Russian Travels

On March 11, 1919, Harris moved up to Vistavka and finally to the town of Kitsa on March 19. The weather in this area remained very cold and only started to break when the month of April came. On April 18, Harris' outfit set out for Vistavka and moved to Beresnik on April 21. From there, he moved toward the town of Kholmogori and arrived there April 25. He stayed in the area until May 11, when he boarded a boat for Archangel and arrived there May 12. He stayed there until May 17 and boarded a barge to Economia Point, a camp about 20 miles out of Archangel. On June 3, he boarded a boat named the HMT Czar for the first part of his trip home.   

Heading Home

Harris arrived in Brest, France, on June 11, 1919, and stayed there until June 21, when he boarded the U.S.S. Von Steuben for the last part of his trip home. He happily arrived in New York on June 30 and boarded the train home to Detroit on July 2. He arrived in Detroit on July 3, 1919.

Our Collection

The Michigan Traveling Military Museum is pleased to have the Edward A. Harris Medical Detachment of The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces grouping in our collection. He holds a very personal connection to our museum, as he was the grandfather of MTMM President Charles Ray. The Harris grouping is an interesting time capsule chronicling the service of an Essexville veteran who proudly served his country in one of the most miserable and unforgiving campaigns of World War I.

Andrew L. Vogel of Bay City, Mich., entered military service on May 6, 1918. He became a member of the newly formed U.S. Tank Corps and was sent to Camp Colt in Gettysburg, Penn., for basic training. Camp Colt was the U.S. Army’s primary tank training center during World War I, and future U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the camp until November 1918.

Camp Colt

While at Camp Colt, Vogel learned about the new concept of armored warfare. He took technical and tactical courses on the operation and use of tanks. He also trained on the Hotchkiss machine gun and the 6-pounder cannon. At this time, the U.S. Tank Corps did not have a single tank in its arsenal, so most soldiers never actually saw a tank until going overseas. His training at Camp Colt was completed Aug. 13, 1918, and he set sail for England. 

Training and Armistice

Vogel arrived in England on Aug. 26, 1918, and then traveled to a British tank training facility. He spent most of September and October training with actual tanks and then crossed the English Channel and entered France. While there, he continued his training as he prepared to enter actual armored warfare. Fortunately, the armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, ending WWI before Vogel had the opportunity to enter actual combat conditions. During the First World War, only about 20,000 officers and men served in the U.S. Tank Corps, making this branch of the U.S. military one of the rarest to produce artifacts.   

Our Collection

The Michigan Traveling Military Museum is pleased to have and display Pfc. Andrew L. Vogel’s original uniform, camouflaged helmet, dog tags and original military paperwork. It is a fitting tribute to a proud veteran of World War I. It is interesting to note that after WWI ended, the U.S. military pretty much ignored tank warfare. Funding for tank research and training was cut to the bone. Our military did not see any real tactical benefit to tanks until seeing the growth and power of Germany’s armored divisions in the late 1930s.   

The story of the Polar Bear North Russian Expedition is a very interesting one. President Woodrow Wilson sent these troops to Russia in response to requests from the British and French governments to join the allied intervention in North Russia. On July 14, 1918, the U.S. Army’s 85th Division left their training camp at Camp Custer, in Battle Creek, Mich., for the Western Front in France. Three days later, Wilson agreed to limited participation by American troops with the stipulation that they would be used only for guarding stockpiled war material. When U.S. Gen. John J. Pershing received the directive from Wilson, he changed the orders for the 339th Infantry Regiment, along with the 1st Battalion of the 310th Engineers, plus a few other ancillary units of the 85th Division. The units were sent to England, where they were trained and re-outfitted with Russian firearms.

To Russia

Upon arrival in Archangel, Russia, on Sept. 4, 1918, The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces discovered that the war material they had been sent to guard had already been moved up the Dvina River by the retreating Bolshevik forces. The American units were then put under British command and almost immediately were used in offensive operations to aid in the rescue of the Czech Legion, who had been fighting the Bolshevik forces. The First Battalion of the 339th Infantry was sent up the Dvina River, and the Third Battalion of the 339th Infantry was sent to the Vologda Railroad, where they conducted offensive operations and pushed the Bolshevik forces back for the next six weeks. These two fronts each became hundreds of miles long and became difficult to supply and protect.
 

The Harshest Winter

With the onset of winter, The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces were no longer able to maintain offensive operations and adopted a defensive posture. Bolshevik forces went on the offensive and forced the Allies to retreat a considerable distance. After the Allied Armistice with Germany in November 1918, the families and friends of The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces troops started a campaign of writing letters to newspapers and circulating petitions to their representatives in Congress, asking for the immediate return of their loved ones from Russia. This raised awareness about the plight of the troops, but unfortunately the Port of Archangel was frozen and closed to shipping, so no withdrawal was possible at the time. All winter, the troops fought to survive under terrible conditions.
 

Coming Home

Finally, in May 1919, the British North Russian Relief Force arrived in Archangel to relieve the American Forces. By June, the bulk of the American troops were on their way home. During their time in North Russia, the American forces suffered more than 210 casualties, including at least 110 deaths from combat, about 30 missing in action, and 70 deaths from disease. This unusual force numbered only about 5,000 men, with two-thirds of them being from the state of Michigan.
 

Our Collection

The Michigan Traveling Military Museum is pleased to have and display a nice collection of original items from The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces, including books, helmets, insignia, medals, patches, paperwork, photographs, trench art shells, uniforms and more. Our display is a fitting tribute to a unique unit comprised of mostly members from Michigan who fought in one of the most unforgiving places on Earth.