339th “Polar Bear” WWI Regimental Flag Adopted

On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Mr. Douglas Hinton III adopted SC-208-90, a flag carried by the 339th “Polar Bear” regiment during World War I. The ceremony was attended by family and friends, the Honorable Senator Sue Shink of the 14th District, and many of her staff.

Save the Flags would like to thank Douglas for his second flag adoption and also would like to thank Senator Shink and her staff for their kind attendance at the ceremony. Douglas also donated a copy of the book that documents some of the history of the 339th, it will become a part of the Save the Flags library.

The 339th “Polar Bear” Regiment was organized, as part of the 85th Division, August 30th, 1917 at Camp Custer, Michigan. Deployed for the battlefields of Europe July 14, 1918, the regiment was separated from its original division upon their arrival in England to become part of a specially created unit called the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (ANREF). They were part of what would be a larger multi-national expedition to support the Russian provisional government in its civil war against Bolshevik revolutionaries, and to secure and prevent large stockpiles of allied war material from falling into German or Bolshevik hands.  They sailed for Arkhangelsk (Archangel), Russia, arriving on September 4, 1918. Of the 5,500 men of ANREF, ninety percent were Michiganders and of that number seventy percent were Detroiters, thus their nickname--“Detroit’s Own.”

(left) Michigan State Senator Sue Shink presents a Special Tribute to Mr. Hinton. (center) Mr. Jerry Benson of the Capitol History and Education team provides a history of the 339th. (right) Mr. Leith Curtis of the Capitol History and Education team presents a photograph of the adopted flag.

Cover of “Detroit’s Own” Polar Bears; The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces 1918-1919.