One interesting veteran who attends each of the Polar Bear reunions is Tom ___, a Navy veteran. What? Navy?
Well, when the 85th Division began to organize and train at Camp Shelby, MS, in 1942, Tom was a young boy of 12 or so. He lived very close to the base and he would go to the camp almost every day. He would work around the camp and the soldiers would pay him to do odd jobs. He even worked in the canteen serving beer during the down time. The 339th Regiment adopted Tom kinda as their mascot. They got to know him. After all these years, he remembered their kindness and returns to make new friends at the reunion----as most of the young soldiers he met in 1942 did not survive the war.
Another bit of info on the Polar Bear Association. I think the association was formed after WW1 but eventually disbanded. This 2006 reunion marks their 50th reunion since the WW2 veterans re-formed and began scheduling reunions.
The next reunion will be this time in 2008 at Gettysburg, PA.
Steve