A Tribute To Edith M. Faulstich
Preface
Written by Edith M. Faullstich
This book is the realization of a dream that began some fifteen years ago. Dreams are hopes, and I hoped one day to be able to relate a cross section of the story of many men who had served with the American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia from 1918 to 1920. As the Siberian Intervention provides us with a heritage manifest today in our Russian and Japanese relationships, I felt that such a story would have both a nostalgic and an historic appeal. If memorabilia could be found, letters and diaries of the doughboys would obviously provide considerable firsthand observations.
As a postal historian, I had collected military mail dating as far back as 1515. Stories of battles and conditions told in the mail made history come to life. Mail from the Siberian Campaign could do the same thing. It was an event that happened within my own lifetime, yet one which took place a half a century ago - enough time to give an historian unbiased observations.
I approached my "dream" with intellectual curiosity and a mind uncluttered by personal conviction for, when I started this labor of love some fifteen years ago, I knew precious little about the Siberian Campaign. It was that fact that spurred my interest, for I learned I was not alone in my ignorance of what had transpired, and why, in Siberia from 1918 to 1920. Few people with whom I conversed had ever heard that American troops were in Russia at the end of World War I, troops that were apparently forgotten for twenty long months. When the regiments were finally ordered to leave Siberia in the winter of 1920, the were not returned as a body to the continental United States. Instead, many were strewn like unwanted children on distant shores. The 31st Infantry Regiment travelled from Vladivostok to the Philippines where it remained. The 27th Infantry Regiment moved from Vladivostok to the Philippines and subsequently to permanent headquarters in Hawaii. Most of the service organization personnel, and some of the doughboys, were eventually able to reach terra firma of the United States of America, but many resented not being returned in a body to their home ports. They considered themselves "America's Forgotten Army."
Before delving into this project, all readily available literature relating to the Siberian Intervention was consulted. At once a startling gap was noticed. Several excellent books had been written on the political seesaw. A few had been written by individuals telling of their own experiences. Generals always write memoirs, but in the book by General Graves, Commander of the American Forces in Siberia, there was little mention of the activities of the men who served in Siberia. I wondered about their attitudes, their thoughts and their background. After seriously studying the contents of a few letters in my personal collection, I saw the necessity of telling that story. Looking at my calendar, I realized it was not too late to reach some surviving veterans in order to question them about their sojourn and thereby obtain a composite representation of the experiences of those who served. I determined almost at once that my book would be their book, that it would be devoted mainly to the minute details of their day-by-day existence for twenty months in Siberia when the spector of boredom was sometimes their worst enemy.
As a great many discrepancies regarding dates, places and spellings occurred in the records and books that were consulted, I have included minutiae which may seem trivial to some readers. However, it is hoped that this record will be helpful to some researcher of the future.
In the mid-1950's I began to devote time to this book. What a joy it would be, I thought, to be able to touch the hands of men who had actually served in the Siberian Intervention and to hear their stories first had. I began by contacting the late General Eichelberger, the late Kenneth Roberts and others. Once name led to another, but my busy life and my work, which included meeting daily deadlines, allowed insufficient time to delve into the subject. I knew this project would be a labor of love and that other pressing work would have to be put aside before I could tackle the many facets of the Siberian Campaign.
Mr. Roberts kindly sent me a roster compiled by the AEFS Veteran Unit in California. The list consisted of an awesome 3,500 names. I began to nibble at the list, but unavailable time made it impossible to continue. In order to write the book I was eventually compelled to wind up all deadline commitments, with one exception. This took two years. In 1962, I began to work seriously on many of the participants and that the only way I would be able to tell their story would be to devote full time thereto.
Several years were necessary to lay the groundwork. First I sent a form letter to 750 veterans whose names I picked at random from the roster. I realized that results would be meager as there had been another world war and a twenty-year lapse since the roster had been compiled.
About 99% of the form letters were returned with "Addressee Unknown" or some similar indication. It was then I realized that, for the sake of thoroughness, my conscience would not permit me to overlook any name on the roster.
Next came the printing of form letters containing a promise to pay postage to anyone who answered. I soon needed part-time help, another typewriter, a copying machine, a tape recorder and additional files. My form letters netted a return of approximately 15%, not a large amount. But the enthusiasm displayed by this 15% when they learned someone would be telling "their" forgotten story was reassuring and heartwarming.
Then their were the returns with notations which simply said "No Forwarding Address." Those were frustrating.
The envelopes marked "Deceased" saddened me, as though I had lost forever some precious link. The letters from wives telling me of their departed husbands were sadder still. One woman wrote that her husband only spoke of the bitter cold and of the hungry children who would come to camp looking for food from the soldiers. "He never mentioned his own ordeals but you and I know they were not all pleasant memories. Here are some photographs and cards. If you can find any use for them, good luck to you. Should anything happen to me they would only be thrown away." Then she added: "When you write your book and your thoughts are on the men you are writing about say a silent little prayer for my loved one."
During the ensuing years a correspondence grew which has brought me many friends, much joy and the sorrows that must of necessity attend the departure of any of my "Siberians."
My office resembled the focal point of a master printshop. The mailman groaned under the heavy burden of my returns. My part-time secretary shook her head in despair.
The letters had to be assorted: "Deceased," "Unknown," "Live Answers" and "Answers with Material." The "Deceased" were put on one pile to list. The "Unknowns" were listed and the form letters were taken out to send to some new names, for those who wrote were often able to send names of men who were not on the list. Files were opened for all who answered. The "Deceased" were filed separately. Letters were acknowledged and postage refunded. Those who sent diaries or letters were requested to wait a week or two until their information could be taken off by typewriter or copying machine and then returned to them. Those who sent photographs were requested to wait until I had time to have copies made of material that might be cogent. Two years of steady correspondence followed.
Meanwhile I prepared a list of ninety-six questions which were sent, with an additional form letter, to each man who had answered. It was also necessary to prepare additional forms as more and more men were answering. The correspondence and study of the data received from the men, and my search elsewhere for background data consumed my time until 1966. I spent weeks at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Time, too, was spent at the Library of Congress. Subsequently I went to Ottawa, Canada to study the records in the Canadian Archives. I visited war museums, interviewed veterans at my home and occasionally at theirs and spoke on a radio program of the National Broadcasting Company in the United States and on the Canadian Broadcasting Company in Canada. In addition, I had notices of my search inserted in various VFW and Legion magazines in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. I wrote short articles and gave a number of lectures on the subject.
Although I determined that the main theme of the book would reflect the personal experiences of men of the AEFS, I realized that the international aspect would make it necessary to include the stories of other men and women as well. There were the men of the Russian Railway Service Corps who were in Vladivostok long before our military forces arrived. The sailors and marines on the BROOKLYN were also in Vladivostok before the AEFS. Their stories could not be ignored. Then there were the nurses and doctors who toiled, sometimes in impossible weather, to combat disease. They fought to keep our sick and wounded alive. There were also the service organizations whose men and women sweated it out while the Allied Intervention took place in Siberia.
The Czecho-Slovaks, Japanese, British, French, Italians, Canadians and others were also part of the overall picture as they mingled with the Americans. To obtain information regarding our allies it was necessary to make contact with sources in several foreign countries.
In answer to my queries, men sent photographs, diaries, letters, papers, souvenirs and stories of their sojourn. Everything had to be read, studied, marked, noted and listed. Postage was refunded and returns made carefully by registered, certified or insured mail. In order to learn something of the men themselves, forms were made regarding their biographies. Some of these proved most helpful.
When the microfilm that I ordered from the National Archives arrived, I had Xerographic copies made. These had to be cut, assorted and filed. The maps from the Library of Congress and copies of reports from the Canadian Archives were also so treated. Duke University loaned me the microfilmed letters which General Eichelberger had written to his wife while he served in Siberia. After these were copied, they too had to be assorted by the month and filed before returning to Duke.
At the National Archives I absorbed the frustrating fact that much material was still classified and, therefore, not available to the researcher. The space taken for the material I had been able to accumulate, however, meant that four file drawers had exploded to eight, eight to twelve, and finally it took thirty-five file drawers, four large storage cabinets, a walk-in closet and a number of bookcases to house my own Siberian Intervention archives.
I seemed to be running an efficient correspondence department and office. But the actual writing of the book still seemed far off. It was then that the light began to burn late at night as I struggled with the discrepancies in facts and figures. And there were many. When the men filled out their biographical slips, they gave me a multiplicity of dates regarding departures and arrivals (from one to twelve weeks difference) although many sailed on the same transport. It was some time before verification could be obtained as to the actual dates. Events were at time described as having taken place at one point by one man and at another by a second. On "The March," one veteran said he had been knee deep in mud and water. On the same day another described the sun and his blisters! And so it went. Checking and rechecking became a day-to-day job. There may be some errors in this book although I sincerely hope my conscientious checking of official records, and double checking with the veterans, will have set dates and places straight. The Russian language was another cause for great concern. In the interest of uniformity I have, in general, tried to maintain the same spelling throughout this book, using as a guide the Military Monograph, Subsection M.1.2., Military Intelligence Division General Staff. This is War Department Document No. 863 of the Office of the Chief of Staff. Unfortunately, errors even occur in this excellent source.
Most of the veterans professed to be honestly happy to assist me. They were sincere in their efforts to help set facts straight. However, the lapse of half a century can fog the memory. Diaries and letters, when they existed, were of inestimable help.
When there has been any question concerning an even, I have taken the interpretation substantiated by identical answers from several men. Flights of fancy, when detected, were omitted. The answers to many questions were inconclusive and, therefore, could not be credited to specific men. Some veterans preferred anonymity in telling of an event. In such cases I have simply said, "a doughboy reported," "one soldier said" or something similar.
When i was deeply involved with the book, I suffered a severe personal illness which resulted in a lapse of about three years during which time it was impossible for me to continue the pursuit of information for the book. When strength was regained, the work went on full time. It is hoped fervently that the veterans of this most forgotten campaign, and their children, and grandchildren, will feel that the work has not been in vain.
Credits have been given copiously within this book. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to mention a few who have been extremely cooperative. If space permitted, more names would be added.
Specifically, I wish to thank Mrs. Robert Eichelberger and Professor Jay Louvaas for their permission to use the Duke University microfilmed letters of the General. I also wish to thank Dr. Mattie Russell, Curator of Manuscripts at Duke, for forwarding that microfilm to me. Mrs. Eichelberger also kindly sent me some twenty pages of typed notes the General had dictated before his death, with permission to use what I wished to from them.
I cannot thank enough Mr. John Taylor of the Research Division, War Department, National Archives, Washington, D.C. for his untiring efforts in helping me find the mountains of papers and reports which made up the official records of the Siberian Campaign.
My radio talks, both in the United States and Canada, proved most fruitful in reaching veterans. For this I thank Leo August of the Philatelic News Bureau, Maplewood, New Jersey and Douglas Patrick of the Toronto Globe and Mail for inviting me to appear on their radio programs.
The courtesy of the men and women in our National Archives and in the Library of Congress, as well as in the Canadian Archives, had earned my sincere appreciation. Thanks, also, go to the editors who printed my plea for a search for veterans who served in Siberia.
How to adequately thank the veterans themselves is cause for my deepest concern. They literally unearthed records they themselves had not seen in years. I helped one man bang and pound an old steamer truck that had not been opened since 1919 to find his memorabilia. Another man made a notation in his will to leave me his photographs from Siberia as he knew I would give them a loving home.
One of my earliest contacts was Stephen Chadwick, a past Commander-in-Chief of the American Legion. Through the years we became good friends. His help will not be forgotten. It is the same with the past Commander of the Siberian AEF Unit in Los Angeles, Joseph Longuevan. The present Commander, Henry Fry, has served over and beyond the call of duty in helping me in every way possible. Mr. Fry, for a time, wrote me daily bulletins which were of great help. Lynn McQuiddy, called the spark plug of the Veteran Unit, and others were also most helpful. Men sent me their personal letters, their coveted diaries and thousands of photographs to study.
The highlight of my association and love for the veterans of the Siberian Campaign was the receipt of an Honorary Membership in the Veteran Unit as an "Esteemed Benefactor of the Veterans of the Siberian Campaign" and an invitation to speak at the 50th Anniversary Banquet in Los Angeles in September, 1968. There I was able to meet, in person, so many of the men who had taken me by the hand through their letters and diaries as they travelled from Vladivostok to the far reaches of Siberia. It was an association which will be long remembered.
Last, but by no means least, I wish to thank my husband, Fred Faulstich, who first inspired this work by showing me a few letters from Siberia, also for taking the time to read my finished manuscript before it was submitted for publication.
Edith M. Faulstich
June 12, 1970
Yonkers, New York
Family Preface
Edith Margaret Faulstich, 1907-1972
The death on September 4, 1972 of this joyous and generous human being took something from the lives of all who knew her.
Edith had devoted more than two decades of her life to the preparation of writing the story of her "Siberians". Dedicated to her purpose, she served well and faithfully as so many know who worked with her and provided her with the story of their lives as young men and women so many years ago and so far away.
Before Edith could make a final summary of the large amount of information which she had accumulated, her work was halted by a higher power.
Inspired by the fortitude and courage of this lady, as well as by the encouragement given by so many participants in the events of this chronicle, we present the first part of an, as yet, unwritten work. We ask for tolerance on the part of readers.
Our part in this initial work, we, husband and sons, and grandduaghter dedicate this to Edith and her beloved "Siberians".
Fred Faulstich[S}
Donald Fisher
Stephen Fisher
March 22, 1974
Alice M. Crittenden/Fisher, Grand Daughter
2001
