BCBSM to honor WWI Vets at "Polar Bears Centennial Symposium"

On Wednesday, Sept. 5, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and “Detroit’s Own” Polar Bear Memorial Association will host a symposium to honor the World War I U.S. Army soldiers, also called “Polar Bears,” who fought the Bolshevik Red Army in North Russia from September 1918 through May 1919. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of their landing in Russia, the event will include presentations from notable authors and historians along with a display of “Polar Bear” uniforms, photographs and memorabilia from the collections of the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, Mich. The event is free to the public, but advance registration is required at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/detroits-own-polar-bears-centennial-symposium-tickets-45011277944.

More than 4,700 U.S. Army “Polar Bears” came from Metro Detroit. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan provides professional growth opportunities internally and externally to the veteran community through the Veteran Employee Resource Network founded in 2017.

The "Detroit's Own" Polar Bear Memorial Association is dedicated to honoring and maintaining the memory of the 339th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 310th Engineers, the 337th Ambulance and Field Hospital Companies of the U.S. Army's 85th Division. These men, officially designated as the American North Russia Expeditionary Force, were sent by President Wilson to North Russia where they fought the Bolshevik Red Army from September 1918 through June 1919.