After the Armistice rang out in Paris, thousands of miles away U.S. soldiers from “Detroit’s Own” 339th Infantry were still fighting—on the frozen rivers and forest tracks of North Russia. In this episode, Chuck and Marco unpack the Polar Bear Expedition (1918–1919): why Americans landed at Arkhangelsk, how “guard duty” became a live-fire campaign, and what those white-woods battles at Toulgas, Shenkursk, and Bolshie Ozerki can teach us about mission creep, coalition command, and logistics in extreme cold. We follow the homecoming, the years-long effort to bring the fallen back, and the Michigan memorial that keeps their names alive.

What you’ll hear

• The real mission vs. the mission on the ground
• Gear, ice, and ingenuity: how soldiers adapted to Arctic war
• Battle stories from scattered outposts an ...