Take Your own Expedition into Polar Bear History!

Learn Which Polar Bear Soldiers
Were from Your State

Although the majority of Polar Bears were from Michigan and the Midwest, every state in the U.S. contributed soldiers to the Polar Bear Expedition into Northern Russia in World War I. Soldiers already fighting in France were transferred to Northern Russia in October of 1918 to replace the soldiers who were already killed in action or had died from the Spanish Flu on the way to Russia.

Thus the Polar Bear expedition was made up of soldiers from every state in the union. Click here to find Polar Bears from your state.

The U of M Bentley Historical Library has created the most comprehensive collection (a combination of over sixty separate collections) of Polar Bear diaries, photographs, letters, newspaper articles and military papers.

Use the links below to learn about and browse the Bentley Historical Library collection.

• Search for a Polar Bear by Name
• Find Polar Bears from Your State
• Browse the Collections by Military Unit
• Read a Brief History of the Polar Bear Expedition
• Browse from the List of Individual Collection of Diaries, Papers and Photos
• Browse by List of Organizations Contributing to These Collections
• Browse by Type of Material (Cartoons, Diaries, Magazines, Maps, Songs, etc.)
• Browse by Subject (Airplanes, Forts, Camps, Dogsleds, Military Life, etc.)
• Learn How the U of M Bentley Library collection was born

Our thanks go to the U of M Bentley Historical Library:

1150 Beal Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113 (734) 764-3482