After a nice stay in Bismarck Lt. Erickson headed to Dalhart Army Air Field in Dalhart, Texas, where he awaited for the crew to assemble for their flight to England. Soon they were off in a brand new B-17 equipped with one of the first H2-X radar devices, incorporating the 'Bomb Through Overcast' system. This was a ground mapping radar approach for use in aerial bombing, which at the time represented a revolutionary advance in target identification technology.

The crew were then off to Langley Field in Virginia. After a week's lay-over and additional training on the H2-X radar device, they were on their way to Roosevelt Field in New York. They would be practically following Charles Lindbergh's route he took when he crossed the Atlantic in his historic flight in 1927.

Then to Maine and my father's first ever time out of the country. Landings and stays in Greenland and Iceland were next. In Iceland the crew was fortunate to see Marlene Dietrich perform for the troops assembled in Reykjavik. Finally the long haul over the Atlantic to Scotland followed. England was next, where he would be stationed till late September of 1944.

The photo presents a young man at 21 years old on the end road of his rookie days and preparing himself for combat flying over Nazi occupied Europe. Before making that first train trip to Texas in early 1942 Ernest Anders had only been as far as Washington state from his home in Bismarck.

January 24th, 1944 marked quite a day for Lt. Erickson and crew as they had just arrived in England arriving from RAF Prestwick in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Their ship had arrived from Iceland a few days earlier and prior to that a landing and stay in Greenland. They had left Maine in early January.

Prestwick was used as an eastern terminus for the North Atlantic Air Ferry Route, over which military aircraft were ferried from the states and Canada to England. A large number of heavy bombers and fighter aircraft transited through the airfield.

For post war humor sake, RAF Prestwick is the same airfield that in 1960 Elvis Presley for the first time in England arrived there when his Army transport stopped en route from Germany.

The crew was soon was off to England in February to the Royal Air Force Station Stoney Cross. They would stay at Stoney Cross waiting for their assignment, soon to be off to RAF Alconbury. Leaving Alconbury after a few days they would fly to their permanent assignment at Horham Airfield, where between March and September of 1944 complete 35 missions.

The crews first mission was on March 27th, 1944, over Cazaux, France aboard the B-17 'Mirandy' (42-31992). Their last and 35th mission was on August 26th 1944 over Brest, France aboard 'Stand By / Goin' My Way' (42-107204).

Comparing the two photographs below, the first one taken in January of 1944. The second photo was taken in August of 1944 when Ernest was being presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross at Horham Airfield in England by his commanding officer Colonel Karl Truesdell. The two photographs stunningly show seemingly two different airmen.

Standing there in the second photo at attention like a hardened 1940s film star, eyes fixed and with already a lifetime of intense experiences behind him. Ernest had just completed 30 of his eventual 35 missions. One can easily see the significant difference in his appearance, how much he had aged and matured in that short period of time. That to me is extraordinary.

Ernest left the states in January of 1944 and was permanently stationed at Horham Airfield in England with the 95th Bomb Group (Heavy) through October of 1944. Ernest wrote an average of 4 - 5 letters home a week to his family while he was stationed in England. Many were profound like this June 6th, 1944 letter and some were simple letters written just to make sure his mother knew he was okay.

Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson flew thirty five missions over German occupied Europe with the 334th Squadron and came home without a scratch yet had life changing experiences and memories that he dealt with over the rest of his life. Growing up with him as his son I was fortunate to hear many of his Air Corps tales and the rest were left for me to find in his archives. Ernest's letters and mission notes told another level of his story that is both compelling and awe inspiring. Many of these can be found on various pages of this website. I invite you to peruse the site and read some of these letters.