The American Expeditionary Force in Europe in the First World War was universally known by its initials, AEF. It has not been widely remembered that many doughboys were convinced that AEF really stood for “Ass End First.” The experiential basis for this conviction was especially apparent in September and October 1918, when the United States Army invaded north Russia and launched its most massive offensive against the Germans, all in the midst of the most horrendous pandemic of influenza the world has ever known.

No member of the 339th Infantry, which was to make up the bulk and core of the American expedition to Archangel, was even dreaming about Russia when that unit left Camp Custer, Michigan, for Europe in summer 1918. Its soldiers were quite mystified by the rumor of “guard duty” in Russia which circulated through their camp at Stoney Castle, England, in early August. The rumor gained credence when they were issued such cold weather gear as snowshoes and skis, and traded in their Enfields for long, old-fashioned looking rifles manufactured for use by the Imperial Russian Army. On August 27 the 339th boarded ship not for Le Havre or any of the other ports that fed men to the Western Front, but for Archangel on the White Sea.

The news of the expedition was not released to American newspapers until September 12, when it appeared along with the latest rumor that the Czar and his entire family had been executed. The Associated Press dispatch about the 339th read: