m a r k e r i c k s o n p a i n t i n g s Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson Air Corps 1942 - 1945
Click to view Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson's complete thirty five mission list and twelve B-17 Flying Fortresses flown between March 27th thru August 26th, 1944 out of Horham Airfield, England.
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The invasion of mainland Europe by the Allies was deep into the Summer of 1944 and the Allies were pushing hard from the west and the eastward with the full intention of grinding the Germans down to nothing. The 8th Air Force continues hammering away, mission and after mission with it's assaults on German oil refineries, armaments, manufacturing and marshaling yards. By August 23rd, 1944, Lt. Erickson had completed 34 missions of his eventual 35. He would complete his tour of combat flying on August 26th, 1944. My father kept many things from his years in the Air Corps. Some things I had no idea that they existed. It's a truly amazing collection of photographs, documents, equipment and hundreds of letters and postcards I came upon soon after he passed. Lt. Erickson often sent home things to his folks in Bismarck, North Dakota between 1942 and 1945, his years in the Air Corps. In late 1943 through 1945 he piloted various planes and soon after his combat flying became a flight instructor in the states. From February through October 1944 Ernest Anders piloted B-17s out of Horham Airfield in England with the 95th Bomb Group (Heavy) on thirty five missions over German occupied Europe. His parents Clara and Frank Erickson kept everything safe and sound that they received for decades. My dad retrieved much of the collection and I certainly enjoyed seeing the photographs whenever I had the opportunity. After my father passed in 2013 I began to seriously delve into this incredible archive. Much of it I have already posted here on this site. Along the way of archiving my father's collection I came across a thick envelope of 'The Stars and Stripes' newspapers that contained thirty copies dating from March 29th through August 28th, 1944. These dates coincide with Ernest Anders thirty five missions that he and crew accomplished between March 27th and their final and 35th mission on August 26th, 1944. A photograph taken before a mission of Lt. Erickson standing in front of the 'Lili of the Lamplight' (44-6085) is below. The front page of The Stars and Stripes Newspaper dated August 23rd, 1944 reports 8th Air Force Carpetbagger missions (aerial supply of weapons and other material to French Resistance Fighters). Other actions in various theaters of the war are also mentioned.
The headlines read: Lt. Erickson and crew after completing their 34th mission over Toulouse, France were on leave till August 25th. They assumed they would be flying their B-17 'Lili of the Lamplight' (44-6085) for that final mission. Unfortunately with another crew aboard, the Lili was shot down over Poland on August 25th. The next day Lt. Erickson would complete his 35th mission abroad the B-17 'Stand By / Goin' My Way (42-107204) over Brest, France. I never heard him mention about the Lili going down or how he felt about losing a ship he referred to in the attached Bismarck Tribune article as the "Lili of the Lamplight Was Lucky Lady," Pilot says. He made me feel the ship flew on after he complted his 35th mission and maybe to him that was the best way of thinking. Lt. Erickson's Air Corps Biography can found at: |
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