A wartime helmet owned by a member of the U.S. 31st Infantry, nicknamed the 'Polar Bears' for their two years of service in the frozen wasteland of Siberia. The helmet bears a light coating of whitewash applied for purposes of camouflage. At front is painted in black the regiment's emblem of a standing polar bear with the addition of an 'S' on his chest, all enclosed with a black shield-shaped design. One side of the helmet bears the year '1918', the other '1919' showing the years of the soldier's service. At top is a compass with its four points, probably demonstrating that the men felt they were near 'the top of the world'. All of the paint is original, with identical degrees of oxidation showing through both the black and white paint. The helmet lacks its liner, but is otherwise in very good condition. An old museum tag or auction sticker is attached within. The 31st Infantry remained in Siberia (having arrived from Manila!) for two years,where they fought off bands of Red revolutionaries and White counter-revolutionaries that were plundering the Siberian countryside and trying to gain control of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. They also dissuaded their 40,000 Japanese allies from taking control of Russian territory. During the Siberian deployment, 30 soldiers of the 31st Infantry were killed and some 60 troops were wounded in action. In addition, a large number of troops lost limbs due to frostbite.