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IDENTIFIED 31ST INFANTRY REGIMENT
“POLAR BEARS” OFFICER’S PATTERN 1911 US ARMY SERVICE
UNIFORM – EXCELLENT CONDITION UNIFORM FROM A VERY
HISTORIC UNIT:
This Pattern 1911 US Army
Officer’s Service Uniform consisting of the coat,
trousers and belt, has survived in particularly nice
condition, with the added value of bearing the shoulder
patch of the famous 31ST Infantry Regiment
and the name of the officer who owned this uniform is
written inside the collar of the coat.
The 31st Infantry Regiment was created on August 12,
1916 at Ft. William McKinley, Philippine Islands, as a
Regular Army regiment. To that date, the only regular
army unit to have been created outside the borders of
the United States, the 31ST was permanently
garrisoned at Ft. McKinley. Except for the regiment’s
participation in the American Expeditionary Force –
Siberia (AEF-S) from 1918 to 1920, and some temporary
duty assignments in Japan in 1923 to assist with the
recovery from a major earthquake, and in Shanghai, China
in 1932 to assist in the protection of the International
Community during civil unrest, the 31ST would
not serve within the continental US until after World
War Two.
The 31ST earned its soubriquet, “The Polar
Bears” during its participation in the historical AEF-S,
one of two international allied interventions in
post-Revolution Russia. During their service in
Siberia, the 31ST, along with the 27TH
Infantry Regiment wrote a remarkable and quite
unique chapter in the history of the United States
Army. This single assignment in Siberia guaranteed
these two regiments a degree of fame that survives today
among collectors of World War One memorabilia.
This uniform coat and trousers were originally collected
from the same estate in Connecticut and from all
appearances have always been together. As noted above,
the officer “KELLEY” wrote his name on the inside back
of the collar. In addition to the 31ST
Regiment’s patch on the left shoulder, the epaulets bear
the silver colored false embroidery captain’s bars. The
display of insignia is completed with the bronze “U.S.”
and Infantry crossed rifles insignias on both sides of
the collar. The insignia all appear original to the
coat with no additional pin holes where the insignia has
been removed, added, or replaced.
Using the name on the collar, the regiment and the rank
of captain, some research has been done to complete the
identification of the officer. The group photographs
shown below were taken on August 16, 1922 were found in
the 31ST’s regimental archives. The
photographs and the names of the officers shown in the
photos were provided to the 31ST’s regimental
historians by Albert Pierson who was a second lieutenant
when he reported to the 31ST in 1922.
Pierson supplied the names of the officers pictured,
recalling them from memory, and he wrote them on the
back of the photo. Note that the “Kelly” listed in the
photograph is spelled differently from the “Kelley”
written on the coat collar. As the elderly Pierson was
providing the names from memory, it is possible and
quite likely he could have misspelled one or more of the
names, including Kelley's.
Unfortunately, Pierson provided only the last name and
rank of the officers in the photographs. However,
considering his age and junior rank at the time, any of
the men shown would have outranked him, so it stands to
reason that as in the case of our man Kelley, young Lt.
Pierson would only have known Kelley’s first name to be
“Captain”, and the same would have applied to the
other senior officers.
Given the features of the uniform coat, I believe the
Captain Kelley shown in the photograph is the same man
who owned this uniform. Unfortunately, the
interwar-years personnel records of the 31ST
were maintained at Ft. McKinley and were never
transmitted to any central archive in the United
States. As a result, the only copy of the regiment’s
records was destroyed during the Japanese attack on the
Philippines in December of 1941 when a vessel carrying
them was sunk. Additional research through the U.S.
Army’s
Official Registers and other record sources of the day
may reveal additional information that would lead to a
more complete biography of Captain Kelley.
Intended as an alternative to the woolen service uniform
for wear in tropical climates, this khaki colored cotton
coat shows minimal evidence of wear, and no fading, with
all of the original buttons present and intact down the
front, on the epaulets and pocket flaps. All the seams
are intact with no fraying or wear spots to the edges.
The edges of the collar, the cuffs, and along the bottom
of the coat are intact with no wear – all areas where
fraying normally occurs on these coats. The seam bias
tape is still present inside the sleeves at the cuffs,
and again shows no evidence of wear.
There are a couple of very
small soil marks on the inside of the coat at the lower
right front pocket where something in the pocket stained
the material. On the reverse of the coat there are two
pin point sized stains, and on the left sleeve there are
some blue colored marks. All of these are quite small
and hardly noticeable, but mentioned here to provide a
complete description.
The trousers, or perhaps more correctly called
“breeches” due to the nature of the cut for wear inside
high riding boots and the reinforced seat for sitting a
saddle, are literally “like new” and show no evidence of
having been worn – perhaps a purchase made right at the
end of the service life of this uniform before the
captain changed over to the new pattern in the early
1930’s. The officer’s name “KELLEY” is written in ink
on the inside front surface of the waistband. The laces
in the lower legs are present and intact, all of the
buttons are present and intact and the belt is present
in similar condition.
This is an outstanding Pattern 1911 Service Uniform
grouping owned by a captain in the famous 31ST
Infantry Regiment which has survived the years in
excellent condition. Due to the relatively limited
numbers of men who served in the regiment, their
isolated overseas assignments, and the destructive
nature of the tropical climates, this is a rare
specimen. Given the historic record of the 31ST,
and the identification to the officer, this particularly
nice specimen would make a prime center piece for a
World War One display. (0607) $1250
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