Years of service 1917-1918 Name Harold Gunnes | Died 2003 | |
Born February 6, 1899 ( 1899-02-06 ) Allegiance United States of America Battles/wars World War I
• Polar Bear Expedition | ||
Service/branch United States Navy | ||
Harold Gunnes (February 6, 1899 – March 11, 2003) was the last surviving American veteran of the Polar Bear Expedition, part of the intervention by the allied forces in the Russian Civil War.
Biography
After graduating from a high school in Barnesville, Minnesota, in 1917, Gunnes enlisted in the Navy. He was assigned to the cruiser Olympia (C-6), which escorted troop transports across the Atlantic. When the ship was sent to Arkhangelsk, in northern Russia, in August 1918, about 50 men from her, including Gunnes, were attached to the Army's 339th Infantry Regiment.
Gunnes was issued with an American-made M1891 Mosin–Nagant rifle, and in September his unit travelled up the Dvina River on barges. About 200 miles from the coast they engaged Bolshevik troops around the village of Seletsko, driving them out. However, the Russians regrouped and flanked the Americans, who were forced to retreat. Gunnes eventually returned to the Olympia, and sailed for England in November 1918.
After the war Gunnes opened a hardware store in Minnesota, before moving to Hillsboro, Oregon, in 1951. He had two sons, three stepchildren, and 17 grandchildren.