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“A COLT THAT CAME IN FROM
THE COLD” – MODEL 1911 COLT PISTOL IDENTIFIED TO LT.
WALLACE W. MILLARD, 31ST INFANTRY REGIMENT,
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE – SIBERIA 1919-1920:
Manufactured in 1915, this Model 1911 Colt Pistol,
bearing a unique and historically significant pair of
grips, was purchased from the Vladivostok Siberia
Ordnance Depot in December of 1919 by then 2ND
Lt. Wallace W. Millard, U.S. Army, who was stationed in
Siberia with the 31ST Infantry Regiment.
How the young lieutenant came to be in this frigid
region of Russia, and how he acquired this Colt, is
interwoven in an event in American history that is
unknown to all but a few military historians and an even
smaller community of collectors.
In the summer of 1918, the
situation in Russian was chaotic. Having suffered the
heaviest casualties of any participant in the First
World War, and after three years of poor leadership,
numbing hardships, and one defeat after another, the
Russian army had begun to disintegrate. Undisciplined
soldiers led by Bolshevik revolutionaries, Czarist
officers, and Cossack warlords roamed Russia at will,
looting the countryside to feed and equip their lawless
bands as the opponents coalesced into two main factions
- the Bolshevik "Reds" and the monarchist "Whites".
As the situation in Russia
deteriorated, the Allies contemplated sending an
expedition to Siberia not only to reestablish the
critical Eastern Front against Germany, but to deal with
several other international concerns. Vast amounts of
supplies provided by the Allies to aid Russia's war
effort were now at risk - the Port of Vladivostok alone
had accumulated supplies valued at $750,000,000. Large
numbers of German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war
had been held in Siberia. As the Russians abandoned
their prisoner-of-war camps, these POW’s not only were
feared as possible reinforcements for the Germans, but
included in the ranks of these POW’s were large numbers
of Czechs and Slovaks who had been drafted into the
Austro-Hungarian Army. Upon the collapse of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire the Slavic minorities formed
their own countries and Czechoslovakia pledged to join
the war against Germany if the Allies would transport
its men home from Siberia. Complicating the allies’
interest in Siberia was Japan's thinly veiled intent to
expand its empire into the Asian mainland - an aim that
had been frustrated by the American brokered peace
treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Japan
had joined the war against Germany; however it was with
an eye on Germany's Pacific territories. Taking
advantage of the chaos and the power vacuum in Asiatic
Russia, Japan garrisoned over 70,000 of her troops in
Siberia with the intent of assuming control of the
province.
Ostensibly to prevent
stranded war materiel from falling into hostile hands,
the Allies decided to occupy the Russian ports. An
American presence in Vladivostok would aid the war
effort, secure the stocks of allied war materiel, help
the Czechs, and thwart the Japanese ambitions. After
many months of prodding by America’s allies and top
advisors in the U.S. State Department, President Woodrow
Wilson agreed in July, 1918 to permit limited U.S.
participation in an allied expedition to Siberia joining
troops from Canada, Czechoslovakia, England, France,
Italy, Japan, Poland, and Romania.
In August the American
Expeditionary Force – Siberia (AEFS) was created under
the command of Major General William Graves. The
command consisted of the 27TH and 31ST
Infantry Regiments which were then stationed in the
Philippine Islands, supplemented with an additional
5,000 soldiers from the 8TH Infantry Division
garrisoned in California. The 31ST Infantry
landed at Vladivostok on August 21ST as the
vanguard of the American force that would eventually
total 9,000 soldiers.
While the soldiers and many
of the leaders, both civilian and military, were
uncertain of their mission, the AEFS settled in to their
assignments of guarding sections of the Trans-Siberian
Railroad, securing the supply depots in the harbor area,
and addressing numerous threats posed by various hostile
forces in the area. The Americans’ duties were
complicated by the harsh and unfamiliar environment,
extreme weather conditions, and the lack of a viable
civil government to control or care for the civilian
population.
On January 8, 1920, the
AEFS was ordered to withdraw from Siberia and over the
next 45 days were transported back to Manila where their
odyssey began. The last contingent of the "Polar
Bears", as the 31st Infantry came to be known in later
years for this Siberian service, departed Vladivostok on
April 1, 1920, having conducted itself with courage,
humanity, and dignity. While serving in this relatively
unknown corner of World War One, and striving to
accomplish a mission which was never well defined,
sixteen members of the regiment were awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross, 29 were killed in action, 8
died of wounds received in action, and 52 were wounded.
Second Lieutenant Wallace
W. Millard, U.S. Army, purchased this Model 1911
Automatic Colt Pistol, Serial Number 110653, at the
Vladivostok Ordnance Depot on December 5, 1919 while
serving with the 31st Infantry Regiment, American
Expeditionary Force Siberia (AEFS). The Vladivostok
Ordnance Depot was established in support of the AEFS
and was only in existence for the brief duration of the
expedition – a mere twenty months.
The original record of this
purchase, entered on the “Statement Of Ordnance Stores
Purchased” form was discovered in the National Archives,
Record Group 120, by Frank Mallory of the Springfield
Research Service. As noted on the Ordnance Department
form, Lt. Millard was authorized to purchase the
government owned Colt as provided by U.S. Army
Regulations, 1913, paragraph No. 1520.
These “Siberian Colts” all
share common characteristics which have been recognized
by collectors and students of this chapter of history.
In the interest of creating a lasting trophy of the
soldier’s service in Siberia, the owners enhanced their
early production Model 1911 Colt Pistols with custom
carved grip panels, with each panel embellished with an
engraved silver medallion commemorating the duration of
the expedition.
There are very few of these
pistols known to exist – perhaps no more than seven -
which can be identified by the unique grip panels to the
Siberian experience, and only two of these known
specimens are identified to the soldier who owned the
pistol – this Millard pistol and SN 110659 which
belonged to Dr. T.T. Crooks, US Army Medical Department,
one of the doctors who served with the expeditionary
force. Given the close proximity of the serial numbers
of Dr. Crooks’ and Lt. Millard’s pistols, it is quite
possible Crooks also purchased his pistol at the
Vladivostok Depot.
Very little is known about
the person who fashioned the grip panels. The best clue
regarding the craftsman’s identity was typed on a paper
tag Dr. Crook attached to his pistol identifying the man
who did the work as one of the German prisoners of war
being held in Vladivostok. Supporting Crooks’
identification, the records of the AEFS include several
references to German POW’s that were employed by the
Americans as kitchen help, medical orderlies and to
perform camp maintenance duties. In addition, the
quality of the carving on the well executed panels and
the style of the design is consistent with that of
German wood carvers. Unfortunately, the identity of the
German soldier was never recorded, but due to the
similarity of the wood carving and the silver engraving
on all the known sets, all of these grip panels were
likely made by the same man – or possibly two men, one
carving the oak panels and the other making and
engraving the medallions.
These commemorative grip
panels appear to have been newly made rather than
decorating the panels original to the pistols. While
each pair of panels is very individual, the carved
design on each set is identical, consisting of a shield
surmounted by an eagle over oak leaves with acorns. The
silver medallions observed on the known grip panels
exhibit more variety in shape and size, however all of
the medallions are engraved with some combination of the
owner’s initials in the form of a monogram and the
notation “AEFS “, “AEF SIBERIA” or “VLADIVOSTOK,
SIBERIA” and they include the dates 1919 and 1920.
As is the case with this
Millard pistol and Dr. Crooks pistol, it is quite
probable that all of these “Siberian Colts” were owned
by officers as the application of the decorative grip
panels would not have been tolerated on a government
owned pistol which was issued to an enlisted man and
which was expected to be returned in the form in which
it was issued.
Wallace W. Millard was born
in Minnesota in 1896, entered the army as a private in
1916, was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1917. He
remained in the service after his assignment in Siberia
on through the interwar years and served in military
intelligence during World War Two. Upon the
reorganization of the armed services after the war,
Millard transferred to the newly created United States
Air Force and was still serving on active duty when he
died in 1950 at the rank of Colonel after 34 years of
military service.
Two additional historical
items are included in this offering which are directly
related to the AEFS - a silver signet ring and a calling
card stand, which like the Siberian Colt grip panels,
were fashioned for sale or trade to the American
soldiers serving in and around Vladivostok. The ring is
engraved on each side and on the face in the same
manner, the same style, and includes the same basic
information, as the medallions on the Colt grip panels.
Due to this remarkable similarity, I believe the ring
was most likely fashioned by the same man who produced
the grip medallions. The calling card stand is
fashioned from various military rifle cartridges and
bullets soldered to the base which is a Russian Army
enlisted man’s belt plate. The front banner is made of
silver and it is engraved “Souvenir of Siberia, 1919,
Vladivostok”. The stand is of the right size for an
officer to use for holding his calling cards. Both of
these items represent examples of the campaign-specific
keep sakes favored by the officers and men and they are
included in the sale of this pistol.
To complete this offering,
a binder of research material accompanies the Colt which
includes:
- a photocopy of the
“Statement Of
Ordnance Stores Purchased” form on file in the National
Archives, Record Group 120, which documents Lt.
Millard’s purchase of this Colt from the U.S. Army
Ordnance Depot – Vladivostok, Siberia (note: the
photocopy appears much clearer in hard copy than it
appears under digital photography as shown here);
- the letter from Frank
Mallory, Springfield Research Service, certifying the
copy of the “Statement Of Ordnance Stores Purchased”
form;
- research and written
communications regarding other known AEFS M1911 Colt
Pistols;
- photocopies of pages
extracted from the US Army Registers showing Millard’s
commissioning as a second lieutenant, and his assignment
to the 31ST Infantry Regiment;
- photocopy of the 1920 US
Census showing Millard in the Philippine Islands after
his return from Siberia;
- photocopies from the
Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army Cross Reference
Card showing Millard’s assignment to military
intelligence and the issuance of his credentials;
- photocopy of the 1947
edition of the Official Register of the Army and Air
Force Register showing Millard’s military history and
his transfer to the US Air Force;
- photocopy of USAF Form
0-529 reporting Millard’s death while on duty, dated
October 18, 1950;
- photocopy of Arlington
National Cemetery Report of Internment, dated October
27, 1950 containing the details of Millard’s burial;
- photograph of Millard’s
tombstone, Arlington National Cemetery;
- historical material
covering the AEFS, the service of the 31ST
Infantry Regiment in Siberia; and
- an original US Army
Signal Corps photograph of “American Red Cross
representative at Red Cross Hospital, Thanksgiving Day,
1918, distributing cigarettes to the sick and wounded
Tieumen, Siberia.”
This is a unique
opportunity to obtain a very nice, early production Colt
Model 1911 Pistol with definitive World War One history
and association, as well as being representative of one
of the more unusual episodes in the history of the
United States Army. The documentation is unquestionable
and the comprehensive research accompanying this set
combines with the three pieces – pistol, ring and
calling card stand – to create an important addition to
any Colt or World War One collection.
SOLD
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