Polar Bear Expedition

[SirFrancis]

I just read an interesting article about the Polar Bear Expedition in 1918.
Now, what I don´t understand is, did the US soldiers fought against the Red army or against the Bolshevik forces?

Here it said against Red army:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Bear_Expedition

Here they write:
Faced with these series of events, the leaders of the British and French governments decided that the Allies needed to begin a military intervention in North Russia. They had three objectives that they hoped to achieve with this intervention:

       1. prevent the Allied war material stockpiles in Arkhangelsk from falling into German or Bolshevik hands,
       2. mount an offensive to rescue the Czechoslovak Legion, which was stranded along the Trans-Siberian Railroad and
       3. resurrect the Eastern Front by defeating the Bolshevik army with the assistance of the Czechoslovak Legion and an expanded anti-Bolshevik force drawn from the local citizenry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Russia_Campaign

http://polarbears.si.umich.edu/index.pl?node=Polar%20Bear%20History&lastnode_id=272

Also:
I friend of my father stated, that US soldiers where in Russia in the 19th century (some kind of expedition)...is that correct?  (Google didn´t help me on this topic)

Regards

[zack1234]

Churchill sent British soliders to aid the White Russian forces but they were already retreating

[kotrenin]

The red army were the forces of the Bolsheviks. Red symbolized the blood of the working class.
My grandfather on my dad's side went there with the hospital unit as a messenger. He had immigrated from Poland a few years before this and spoke Polish, English and Russian. So when he joined the army to get his citizenship he was sent to Russia.  We don't know much about his time there, he died in the early 60's, more than 15 years before I was born, and never spoke much about it with my father other then that it sucked and was very cold.  Unfortunately the military's records of the expedition were destroyed in a fire in the mid 30's. 

[SirFrancis]

The red army were the forces of the Bolsheviks. Red symbolized the blood of the working class.
My grandfather on my dad's side went there with the hospital unit as a messenger. He had immigrated from Poland a few years before this and spoke Polish, English and Russian. So when he joined the army to get his citizenship he was sent to Russia.  We don't know much about his time there, he died in the early 60's, more than 15 years before I was born, and never spoke much about it with my father other then that it sucked and was very cold.  Unfortunately the military's records of the expedition were destroyed in a fire in the mid 30's. 

Thx for the answer.

[kotrenin]

SirFrancis,   Here are some pictures of my grandfather, Joseph John Paistupa. (when he came to America the immigration officials screwed up his last name, correct spelling was Pristupa. His feeling on the matter was, "screw it, you can call me Mud if you want, but I'm here to stay.") From what I understand he came through Baltimore in 1913 at the age of 23 and settled in Chicago. In approximately 1915 or 1916 he volunteered for the army and was assigned to the 337th hospital unit.  He spoke Polish, Russian and English so he was given the duty of translator and given a horse. The unit was sent to Archangelsk as part of the AEF Northern Russia. 

 


June 12, 1919 This one is labeled as "Kitchen Crew 337th Field Hospital"


June 23, 1919 coming home on a ship.


July 19,1919  Possibly just before discharge from the Army.