My father Ernest Anders Erickson told me countless stories of growing up on the Dakota plains. My grandmother Clara also told me her stories. It all mixes with the images here on the Family Archive Project website. One particular memory they both shared with me, took place when my father was about to leave for combat flying in the Air Corps 1943.

As it turned out, from dreams of being a fighter pilot, Ernest became a B-17 bomber pilot, flying dangerous missions over German occupied Europe. He flew with the 95th Bomb Group and the 334th Squadron, and in February of 1944 was permanently stationed at Horham Airfield in England for the extent of his combat service.

He first left the states with his crew in late 1943. By March of 1944 my father would complete his first mission, and by the time he received the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) in June of 1944, the crew had completed their 25th mission. It was a No-Ball raid, an attack on V-1 & V-2 rocket installations hidden in the forest along the French coast. He would end up completing 35 missions by the end of August of 1944.

Every year around March, I think of my dad, as he began flying dangerous combat missions over Europe in March of 1944. Then immediately what comes to mind is my grandmother, Clara. She mentioned her constant worries about her son while he was in England. Dozens of letters flooded home over his period in the Air Corps, many attempting to comfort her fears. In some of his writings, his words likely stoked her fears, when he described some of the more distressful missions he had completed.

In the end after 35 missions he was done with combat. Even though he put in a transfer to fly the B-29 Superfortress, something he never told his mother, he eventually did return home in 1945 all in one piece.

That reunion I am sure was quite emotional. So to my grandmother Clara I post this photograph of her and my dad beaming at their first of two reunions.

By 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. The full story is below at the link.