Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson poses for a photograph after his graduation from Advanced Flight Training at Blackland Army Air Field in 1943. He sent many photos back to his folks and 3 year old sister Dian in the Dakotas during his training days in 1943. He began something he continued to do throughout the war, sending home many letters often filled with photos so his family would know he was doing alright. He carried his camera with him regularly.

Blackland is five miles northwest of Waco, was activated in June 1942. It was initially named China Springs Army Air Field and was also known as Waco Army Air Field No. 2 before being renamed after the local black soil. It was first a glider training school and in October 1942 became an advanced two-engine pilot school.

By January 1944 having been assigned to the 334th Squadron of the 95th Bomb Group (Heavy) Ernest Anders would be flying to England. When the crew arrived at Horham, their original ship they had flown from Langley, Virginia up the east coast with stops at Roosevelt Field in New York, Maine, Greenland and Iceland was taken away from them and transferred to another airfield and squadron. My father and crew became a crew without their own ship and over their time at Horham when they began flying combat missions the crew would end up on-board twelve different B-17s.

The twelve B-17s flown: Lili of the Lamplight (44-6085) * Taint A Bird II (42-30342) Fireball Red (42-31876) * Able Mable (42-31920) * Mirandy (42-31992) Gen'ril Oop & Lili Brat (42-31993) * Ten Aces (42-38178) Smilin' Sandy Sanchez (42-97290) * Paisano (42-102450) * Stand By / Goin' My Way (42-107204) The Doodle Bug / What’s Cookin? (42-107047) * To Hell Or Glory (42-38123).