My grandfather Frank Severin Erickson in La Grande, Oregon when he was a deputy on the Oregon Railroad in the Spring through the Fall of 1917. Also below are two other images of Frank when he was an Oregon deputy and one when serving with the 308th Infantry.

In late 1917 Frank and his older brother Ernest Julius would join the AEF, the American Expeditionary Force in Baker, Oregon. He would train near Tacoma, Washington at Camp Lewis and in July of 1918 ship out of the Brooklyn Harbor heading for Liverpool, England. By September he would be entering combat as a member part of the 308th Infantry Company H and be part of the Meuse Argonne Offensive.

Frank was a surviving member of what later would be referred to as 'The Lost Battalion.' What entailed in the Argonne Forest was a serious and brutal battle that began on October 2nd when the Division was surrounded by the Germans and ended October 8th when a handful of survivors were able to escape through a pocket in the Argonne.

The Lost Battalion, the name given to the nine companies of the United States 77th Division of the American Expeditionary Force, consisted of 554 men that were surrounded by German forces. Roughly 197 were killed in battle and approximately 150 went missing in action and or were taken prisoner. Only 194 remaining men walked out alive. Frank was fortunately one of those men

Since I have been a kid this image of Frank has been my favorite photograph! I called it 'The Shootist,' and still do and know it would be a great movie poster for a 'great' western film.