In 1921 my grandfather Pvt. Frank Gustaf Severin Erickson (standing 8th to the left of the US flag) along with his brother in-law Sture Albin Nelson (front row - holding the US flag) came together with other North Dakota personal of the military to commemorate the unveiling of the Riverview Obelisk. The Riverview Memorial was dedicated to those who served in the war.

On that day at Riverview, Frank and Sture along with the others pictured here represent the North Dakota servicemen who served in the war. All were present for the commemoration ceremony held on May 30th, 1921 on the plains of Dakota located along the Missouri River not far from the town of Wilton.

In 2016 Riverview was officially added to the registry of the The World War I Memorial Inventory Project in Washington D.C. The Memorial Project honors the centennial of the Great War by assembling an inventory of all World War I memorials and monuments in the United States and U.S. territories. The project is working in partnership with the United States World War I Centennial Commission.

Many thanks to Director Mark Levitch for his diligent work on the Project. Much appreciation for adding Riverview to the inventory of WW1 Memorials. In the memories of many, this will stand well for all the families who lost their love ones.

Like many memorials across the states, Riverview is a sanctuary where one can go to honor, in this case Dakota service personal that gave their lives in the war. My Uncle Ernest Julius Erickson, Frank's older brother is buried there along with other members of the family. My father Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson, a veteran of the 95th Bomb Group, a B-17 pilot who flew with the 334th Squadron out of Horham Airfield in England in 1944 will have his ashes interned at Riverview in 2019.

Frank and Ernest Julius were working by mid Summer of 1917 as deputies on the Oregon Railroad out of La Grande. Both had joined the army in June and had full intention of becoming members of the American Expeditionary Force that was being formed at hundreds of army camps all over the states.

Ernest Julius was killed while on a mission in the Argonne Forest in France on October 10th, 1918. He was with the 361st Infantry of the 91st Division and serving in Company C and had been in the intelligence section of the First Battalion through both Argonne drives in the Fall of 1918.

One of my favorite photographs is below of Ernest Julius taken by Frank just a few months before he joined the American Expeditionary Force in 1917. He and his brother Frank were on a deer hunting trip up near Mt. Baldy in Oregon.

After becoming a member of the 36st Infantry he served as a scout, sniper, observer and runner and was a long-time expert riflemen starting at a very young age. These words from his commanding officer speak volumes: "Ernest was one of the gamest men in the regiment and one of the most willing." They camped and cooked outdoors and enjoyed the time together up in the woods.

Ernest Julius was the first to enter service in late 1917 and train at Camp Lewis near Tacoma, Washington. He shipped out to England from Brooklyn Harbor on July 6th, 1918 and ported in Liverpool. By September of 1918 Ernest would find himself in the Argonne Forest in France serving with the 361st Infantry. Frank followed in August of 1918 shipping out to England from Brooklyn Harbor.

Ernest Julius and Frank's younger brother Andy (Anders) Sebran Erickson served with the 101st Aero Squadron in the Air Corps. Andy was assigned to the Issoudun Aerodrome near Bourges where the squadron carried out bombardment missions until the end of the war. He returned home as did Frank in early 1919.

Ernest Julius was killed while on a mission in the Argonne Forest in France on October 10th, 1918. He was with the 361st Infantry of the 91st Division and serving in Company C and had been in the intelligence section of the First Battalion through both Argonne drives in the Fall of 1918.

Below also is a photograph of the headstone of Ernest Julius Alfred Erickson 1889 - 1918. From all I have read and the stories told by people that knew Ernest Julius, he was a very special, unique man who loved to write and sought adventure to his twilight.