John Theodore Smutek was born December 28, 1887 in Detroit, Michigan.

John enlisted in the U.S. Army soon after reaching the minimum age requirement of 18, probably in Jan. 1906. This can be inferred from the record that shows he signed up for a 2nd enlistment on January 29, 1908 at Fort Crook, Bellevue, Nebraska. He began a 3rd enlistment on August 5, 1911 but the record indicates he deserted on June 30, 1912. He was apprehended on September 4, 1914 and given a dishonorable discharge on December 2, 1914.

On April 6, 1917 the United States declared war on Germany and entered the Great War on the side of the Allied Powers. On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription.

On June 5, 1917 all men between the ages of 21 to 30 were required to register for military service. John was 29 years old on that date and was living on his father's farm in Ellington Township, near Caro, Michigan. He noted on his registration card that he had previously served for seven years as a Private in the U.S. Army Infantry.

John was drafted and reentered the U.S. Army at Camp Custer, near Battle Creek, Michigan. He was a Private in Company F of the 339th Infantry Regiment of the 85th Division.

The 30,000 men of 85th Division departed Camp Custer beginning on July 11, 1918. Company F was aboard the USS Northumberland when it departed Brooklyn, NY on July 22, 1918. Upon their arrival in Liverpool, England, 4,900 men of the 85th Division, including all of the 339th Infantry, were sent to a separate camp near London for three weeks of training on how to use their newly issued Mosin-Nagant rifles and Lewis machine guns, during which they were also given new cold weather uniforms and gear. From there they were sent to Archangel, Russia as part of the American North Russia Expeditionary Force, arriving on Sept. 4, 1918.

Members of Company F battled the Bolshevik Red Army on three different fronts during the nine months they were in North Russia. During this time Private Smutek was promoted to Corporal. He was among the 853 Americans who were aboard the HMT Menominee on June 15, 1919 when it departed Archangel bound for Brest, France. Upon arrival they spent a few days at nearby Camp Pontanezen getting new uniforms and equipment. On June 30, 1919 they were aboard the USS President Grant when it departed Brest for Boston, Massachusetts, arriving on July 12, 1919. From there they were taken to nearby Camp Devens and then on to Camp Custer, Michigan where they were discharged from the Army.

Upon their return to the United States, the men of the 85th Division who fought in North Russia began calling themselves "Polar Bears" and were authorized to wear the Polar Bear patch on their left sleeve.

John Smutek died on April 8, 1951 and is buried in the Ellington Township Cemetery, Tuscola County, Michigan [link].