My father Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson looking cool at home at 801 Jefferson Avenue in Bismarck, North Dakota in late October of 1943. He was visiting his folks on leave after graduating from Advanced Flight Training at Blackland Field. He would soon be heading for combat flying at Horham Airfield in England with the 95th Bomb Group as a pilot of a B-17.

Ernest flew his first combat mission on March 27, 1944 (mission notes below) that took his squadron over the full length of France to the border with Spain. In a letter home, he spoke of it matter-of-factly, mentioning flak damage with no particular emphasis or surprise. Even though he mentions the airmen had to complete 30 missions to fulfill their combat flying, it would later be extended to thirty five.

On April 9, 1944, Ernest wrote to his mother, father and sister Dian:

Dear Folks and Dinny,
I've been on three missions in the last week or so, one was to Southern France, and I really could see clearly the Pyrenees Mountains, they separate France and Spain. It was beautiful. The place is called Cazaux. The next one was to a place south south west of Paris, called Chateaudun.

Sure wish we could have got a glimpse of Paris, maybe on another mission. The most recent one was to Belgium. We encountered a lot of flak on all three missions. We got four large flak holes on the underside of the left wing. Another punctured the main gas tank, had quite a leak over the Channel as we were heading home and it was drizzling out as we landed. Still another hit the wing tip tank (they are called Tokyo Tanks) Another went through the landing flaps and they were partially dangling when we landed. The last one went through the main span. It took quite a piece out of the span. We got all this right over the targets. I could tell when we got hit the one time. It happened a few seconds before we dropped the bombs.

It was quite the jolt. I thought the ball turret gunner got hit, or possibly the tail gunner. I called them up, but they were okay. On the way back from Cazaux we, or rather the gunner boys, shot at some German ships in the Bay of Biscay, just off the coast of France. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We are going out on one tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to get up pretty early. Don't mind though! It just means one less to go. We have to do thirty now.

love, Ernie

By the time he received the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) in late June 1944 they had completed their 25th mission, a No-Ball (an attack on V-1 & V-2 rocket installations hidden in the forest along the French coast) mission over France. Every March at some point I think of my dad as he began combat flying over Europe in March of 1944.

In late August of 1944 my father and crew awaited the day they would complete their last and final 35th mission. The cards laid out for that mission on August 26th, 1944 took a very uncertain last minute diversion.