James T. Ida – Private, United States Army

He was killed-in-action by Communists while taking part in the U.S. Expedition to Siberia in August 1918. He was returned to the United States and buried in Section 18 of Arlington National Cemetery with other casualties of that action.

For more information on the Siberian Expedition, see the profile of Major General William Sidney Graves in the United States Army Section.

BODIES REACH CAPITAL
Three Soldiers Killed in Russia to Be Buried at Arlington

WASHINGTON, December 4, 1929 – The bodies of three American soldiers, which for ten years had lain in the frozen soil of the Archangel front of Northern Russia, arrived here this morning and were taken to Fort Myer, Virginia.  There they will rest in vaults until Thursday, when they will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The bodies were those of members of the force sent into Russia in 1918.

Those of Elmer E. Speicher, Cook of Company C, 339th Infantry, and Louis Syzmanski, a Private in the same company, were brought here at the request of their next of kin.  The third was that of James T. Ida, Private in the 337th Ambulance Corps, who was a native of Japan.

IDA, JAMES T

• PVT 337TH AMBULANCE MICH 85TH DIV
• VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
• DATE OF DEATH: 03/12/1919
• DATE OF INTERMENT: 12/05/1929
• BURIED AT: SECTION WWW  SITE 4905
• ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard