William Gustav Kuhfeld was born February 10, 1882, to Albert Herman and Josepha Kuhfeld in St. Paul, Minnesota. On July 1, 1902, he married Robina L. Meldrum in St. Paul. On November 1, 1917, he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as a Second Lieutenant in the Russian Railway Service Corps, part of the American Expeditionary Forces. Kuhfeld’s service took him to Japan, Manchuria, and Siberia. On April 1, 1919, he was appointed Captain. He resigned from the Corps on July 16, 1920 and returned to St. Paul. He died November 19, 1953, and is buried in Acacia Park Cemetery, Dakota County.
The Russian Railway Services Corps (RRSC) was established by President Woodrow Wilson as a diplomatic and military force designed to ensure stability of the area along the Trans-Siberian Railroad, to protect the large quantities of military supplies and railroad equipment that had been sent to the Eastern Front, and to ensure that neither Cossack marauders nor the Japanese military gained strategic advantages in the area.
From the guide to the William Gustav Kuhfeld and family papers., 1917-1998 (bulk 1917-1920)., (Minnesota Historical Society)
