Edward A. Harris of Essexville, Mich., entered military service on May 25, 1918. After basic training at Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Mich., he was assigned to the U.S. 85th Infantry Division. He later was transferred to the 339th Medical detachment and became part of The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces. It is interesting to note that Harris had absolutely no medical training and was told he would just have to learn along the way. From the beginning, Harris kept a detailed diary of his time and experiences in the U.S. Army. Most of the information listed below came directly from his diary and gives a very accurate account of his experiences in Russia.
To England and Russia
Harris arrived in England on Aug. 4, 1918. While there, he completed additional training until Aug. 25 and boarded the HMT Nagoya for the trip to Russia. He arrived in Archangel, Russia, on Sept. 6, 1918. Once on shore, he was sent down the riverfront and engaged in the fighting around the town of Seletskoe in the Dvina river area from Sept. 18-Oct. 2, 1918. From there, he moved down river and fought around the town of Kodish in the Emtsa river area from Oct. 2-23, 1918. After Kodish, he spent a short amount of time in the Russian towns of Emtsa and Beresnik. By then, the weather took a turn for the worst, and he quartered in the towns of Chemova and Shushuga during the winter of 1918-19. Throughout his diary, he relates how miserable the weather was in Russia. You can tell from his tone that he did not view his experience in Russia as pleasurable.
Russian Travels
On March 11, 1919, Harris moved up to Vistavka and finally to the town of Kitsa on March 19. The weather in this area remained very cold and only started to break when the month of April came. On April 18, Harris' outfit set out for Vistavka and moved to Beresnik on April 21. From there, he moved toward the town of Kholmogori and arrived there April 25. He stayed in the area until May 11, when he boarded a boat for Archangel and arrived there May 12. He stayed there until May 17 and boarded a barge to Economia Point, a camp about 20 miles out of Archangel. On June 3, he boarded a boat named the HMT Czar for the first part of his trip home.
Heading Home
Harris arrived in Brest, France, on June 11, 1919, and stayed there until June 21, when he boarded the U.S.S. Von Steuben for the last part of his trip home. He happily arrived in New York on June 30 and boarded the train home to Detroit on July 2. He arrived in Detroit on July 3, 1919.
Our Collection
The Michigan Traveling Military Museum is pleased to have the Edward A. Harris Medical Detachment of The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces grouping in our collection. He holds a very personal connection to our museum, as he was the grandfather of MTMM President Charles Ray. The Harris grouping is an interesting time capsule chronicling the service of an Essexville veteran who proudly served his country in one of the most miserable and unforgiving campaigns of World War I.
