JOHN L. ERICKSON, LCDR, USN
John Erickson '38
Lucky Bag
From the 1938 Lucky Bag:
JOHN LONAM ERICKSON
Lincoln, Nebraska
Eric
You would never think, to see Eric pulling a healthy oar for the Blue and Gold, that he was a fixture at the fall and winter hops. Nor, to see him there, would you suspect that during crew season he could forego such pleasures to become one of the monks of Hubbard Hall. Yet Johnny has adapted himself to such a routine, gaining success in both fields. Although his operatic efforts, which burst forth from the shower, indicate that he will never aspire to that calling, there is nothing Eric enjoys more than a few bars of close harmony. And those who have heard his mellow baritone usually come back for more. Space is too short to allow a fuller expose of his private life, but let it suffice to say that Eric's friends have concluded that there is nothing of which they are more certain than that Eric will top the heights.
Glee Club 4; Football 4; Crew 4, 3, 2, 1, N; Lieutenant.
JOHN LONAM ERICKSON
Lincoln, Nebraska
Eric
You would never think, to see Eric pulling a healthy oar for the Blue and Gold, that he was a fixture at the fall and winter hops. Nor, to see him there, would you suspect that during crew season he could forego such pleasures to become one of the monks of Hubbard Hall. Yet Johnny has adapted himself to such a routine, gaining success in both fields. Although his operatic efforts, which burst forth from the shower, indicate that he will never aspire to that calling, there is nothing Eric enjoys more than a few bars of close harmony. And those who have heard his mellow baritone usually come back for more. Space is too short to allow a fuller expose of his private life, but let it suffice to say that Eric's friends have concluded that there is nothing of which they are more certain than that Eric will top the heights.
Glee Club 4; Football 4; Crew 4, 3, 2, 1, N; Lieutenant.
Loss
John was lost when his "VF(B) plane" — which seems to be a F6F-5N Hellcat in an attack role — crashed during takeoff from USS Hancock (CV 19) while launching on a strike off the coast of the Philippines. He had been the commanding officer of Bombing Squadron (VB) 7 since shortly after it was commissioned in early January 1944.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
At Lincoln High School, John participated in football (end,) track (discus,) and swimming (freestyle, relay and diving) and was secretary of the senior class.
He married Barbara Lewis White on July 12, 1940. Best man was Ensign Paul G. Schultz (’38) of New Mexico.
His mother Vivian died on February 9, 1923. In 1930, John’s family lived with John’s grandparents Alex and Anna Erickson and his uncle Elmer. His father was David.
From The Lincoln Star, October 26, 1944:
Lt. John Erickson Saw ‘Many Hits’ Smash Into Jap Fleet\
… Lincoln Flier’s Plane Crash-Landed on Tacloban\
By Lee Van Atta.TACLOBAN, Leyte Island, Oct. 25 – (Delayed) – (INS) – American naval airmen operated from the pastures and mudholes of Tacloban as well as from aircraft carriers in scoring their decisive victory over the Japanese fleet. Aerial dog fights raged over our heads as we watched from the Tacloban air strip and the attacks of our airmen ranged to several hundred miles northeast of Luzon.
With their floating bases under constant sea and air assault by the Japanese, our naval fliers winged into the mud holes from which the Tacloban and Dulag airdromes are being constructed. With speedy co-operation from army service units they are able to reload bombs, gasoline and ammunition and take off for combat again immediately.
Some pilots were left behind because their planes were either shot up so badly they could no longer fly or because, in many cases the strips were in such poor condition they crashed in landing or take off.
Lieut. John Erickson of Lincoln, Neb., who crash-landed on the Tacloban strip after flying from Admiral William F. Halsey’s force, said “many hits” could be seen smashing into the Nipponese battle formations from upward of 100 carrier-based aircraft, attacking simultaneously.
Lieut. Erickson is the son of City Engineer D. L. Erickson, 2100 Bradfield drive.
From the Lincoln Star, January 3, 1945:
John Erickson Killed in Crash
… He was graduated from Lincoln high school in 1933, attended the University of Nebraska for the fall term before entering the United States Naval academy. He graduated from Annapolis in 1938.
Erickson played football and was a track man with the high school teams, and was all-state high school diving champion in 1933. At Annapolis, he was a member of the Varsity crew.
In 1940, Commander Erickson was married to Miss Barbara White of New York, and they have a two and a half year old son.
Having served the major portion of the war in the Atlantic theatre of operations, Commander Erickson was last home during the summer, when he was transferred to the Pacific.
He has three sisters, Mrs. A. E. Chittenden, Lincoln; Miss Theoda Erickson, Chicago, and Kay Erickson, at home.
From the Lincoln Journal Star, August 13, 1932:
The fancy divers put on a splendid exhibition which drew rounds of applause. In the junior division a real dog fight developed between John Erickson, defending champion, and Don McDowell, with the latter getting a hairline decision, outscoring Erickson by 1.2 points. Erickson mussed up a double back somersault which proved costly.
From Lincoln Journal Star, August 29, 1935:
John Erickson who has completed his first year at the U. S. naval academy at Annapolis and recently returned from his first midshipman’s cruise, is spending three weeks leave with his father, D. L. Erickson. His three months cruise took him to Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Gibraltar and the Madeira islands. In Berlin he was impressed by the fact that every third person encountered wore a uniform of some sort. John turned out for freshman football at the academy last fall and expects to be a candidate for the first team this fall. He played end at Lincoln high. He took four months work in the university before attending prep school. He distinguished himself during his first year at Annapolis on the freshman crew which finished third in the Poughkeepsie regatta on June 18 and defeated all eastern entries. Prior to that the frosh crew had defeated all comers in single encounters including Columbia Cornell and Pennsylvania.
From the Lincoln Journal Star, May 19, 1936:
John Erickson, son of D. L. Erickson, who attends Annapolis naval academy will not be home until the first of September. His academic year closes June 5, after which he will spend the summer in training for the Olympic trials to take place at Princeton, July 4. June 22 the intercollegiate meet will be held at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. in which John will also participate as a member of the junior varsity crew. John’s summer plans are contingent upon the outcome of try outs at Princeton. There is a possibility that he may go to Berlin for the Olympics.
[same paper] John Erickson, son of City Engineer Erickson, has a souvenir from the Navy-Harvard boat race last Saturday that money wouldn’t buy. John rows the No. 6 position for Navy while at this position for Harvard is John Roosevelt, son of President Roosevelt. The victor in the annual boat race demands the spoils, in the form of the losers’ jerseys, each member of the losing crew giving his sweater to the man occupying the same position in the winning shell. Hence, Erickson has the jersey worn by young Roosevelt.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
John is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Career
From naval aviation historian Richard Leonard via email on February 9, 2018:
- NAS Pensacola attached for HTA flight training, 7/15/1940
- NAS Pensacola designated NA # 7061, 1/24/1941
- Date of rank from 1 Jul 1941 USN Register, 6/2/1941
- Date of rank from 1 Jul 1942 USN Register, 6/15/1942
- VB-42 USS Ranger (CV-4), 5/17/1943
- VB-7 (CO acting) NAS Wildwood, 1/10/1944
- TAD ComFAirDet NAS Wildwood, 2/20/1944
- VB-7 (CO) NAS Wildwood, 2/21/1944
- Date of rank from 1 Jul 1944 USN Register, 3/1/1944
- VB-7 (3d CO) USS Hancock (CV-19) DFC, 10/13/1944
- VB-7 (3d CO) USS Hancock (CV-19) NX, 10/25/1944
- VB-7 (3d CO) USS Hancock (CV-19) DFC, 10/29/1944
- VB-7 (3d CO) USS Hancock (CV-19) LM(V) KFIA BNR, 12/15/1944
Photographs
From his junior high school yearbook
From Lincoln Journal Star on February 19, 1932
From The Lincoln Star on October 26, 1944
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander John Lonam Erickson (NSN: 0-81271), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber and Commanding Officer of Bombing Squadron SEVEN (VB-7), attached to the U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), in action against enemy Japanese forces during the Battle for Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Islands Area, on 25 October 1944. Leading his flight of bombing planes in a powerfully coordinated attack against major units of the Japanese Fleet, Lieutenant Commander Erickson unhesitatingly plunged through an accurate and merciless barrage of heavy and medium anti-aircraft fire from hostile guns to press home his aggressive attack and, releasing a 1,000-pound bomb at a perilously low altitude, scored a devastating hit on the bow of a large enemy battleship. A determined and forceful leader, Lieutenant Commander Erickson, by his superb airmanship, daring combat tactics and indomitable fighting spirit maintained throughout this period of furious action, contributed directly to the infliction of serious and costly damage on this Japanese man-of-war and to the ultimate success of our sustained drive against the enemy in the Pacific War Theater. His valiant devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: 25-Oct-44
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 7 (VB-7)
Division: U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19)
Legion of Merit
From Hall of Valor:
SYNOPSIS: Lieutenant Commander John Lonam Erickson (NSN: 0-81271), United States Navy, was awarded the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer of Bombing Squadron SEVEN (VB-7), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), in the Pacific war area, from 21 February 1944 to 15 December 1944.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 357 (December 1946)
Action Date: February 21 - December 15, 1944
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 7 (VB-7)
Division: U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19)
Distinguished Flying Cross
From Hall of Valor:
SYNOPSIS: Lieutenant Commander John Lonam Erickson (NSN: 0-81271), United States Navy, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Commanding Officer of Bombing Squadron SEVEN (VB-7), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), over Kilrun on 13 October 1944.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 354 (September 1946)
Action Date: October 13, 1944
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 7 (VB-7)
Division: U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19)
From Hall of Valor:
SYNOPSIS: Lieutenant Commander John Lonam Erickson (NSN: 0-81271), United States Navy, was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Commanding Officer of Bombing Squadron SEVEN (VB-7), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), in the Philippine Islands area on 29 October 1944.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 354 (September 1946)
Action Date: October 29, 1944
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 7 (VB-7)
Division: U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19)
Map
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
CDR William Sample '19\
LT William Pennewill '29\
LT Finley Hall '29\
LT John Yoho '29\
LT Lance Massey '30\
LT George Bellinger '32\
LT Martin Koivisto '32\
LT John Spiers '32\
LT Daniel Gothie '32\
LT Dewitt Shumway '32\
LT Albert Major, Jr. '32\
LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33\
ENS Frank Peterson '33\
LTjg Charles Brewer '34\
LTjg Walker Ethridge '34\
CAPT Floyd Parks '34\
LTjg Charles Ware '34\
LTjg Frank Whitaker '34\
LTjg Philip Torrey, Jr. '34\
LTjg George Nicol '34\
LTjg Victor Gadrow '35
LTjg Richard Stephenson '35\
LTjg Allan Edmands '35\
LTjg Roy Krogh '36\
LTjg Porter Maxwell '36\
LTjg Richard Hughes '37\
LTjg Frank Henderson, Jr. '37\
LTjg John Thomas '37\
LTjg John Boal '37\
ENS Harry Howell '38\
ENS Eric Allen, Jr. '38\
ENS James Ginn '38\
ENS Oswald Zink '38\
ENS Frank Case, Jr. '38\
ENS Howard Fischer '38\
ENS Edmundo Gandia '38\
ENS Charles Reimann '38\
ENS Howard Clark '38\
ENS Roy Hale, Jr. '38\
ENS Leonard Thornhill '38\
ENS Osborne Wiseman '38
ENS Curtis Howard '38\
ENS Jep Jonson '38\
ENS Roy Green, Jr. '38\
ENS Marion Dufilho '38\
2LT James Owens '38\
ENS William Brady '38\
ENS Charles Anderson '38\
ENS Carl Holmstrom '38\
ENS Charles King '38\
2LT John Maclaughlin, Jr. '38\
ENS William Tate, Jr. '38\
2LT Douglas Keeler '38\
ENS Harry Bass '38\
ENS John Kelley '38\
ENS William Lamberson '38\
ENS Donald Smith '38\
ENS Frank Quady '38\
ENS Richard Crommelin '38\
ENS Robert Seibels, Jr. '38\
ENS Alphonse Minvielle '38
April 1941
LT William Widhelm '32 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)\
LTjg Richard Bull, Jr. '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)\
LTjg Walter Bayless '36 (USS Ranger)\
LTjg Ralph Embree '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)
ENS Richard Crommelin '38 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)\
ENS Lemuel Cooke '39 (USS Ranger)\
ENS William Beck, Jr. '40 (USS Ranger)
Memorial Hall Error?
John is not listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall. While not an obvious error, inclusion on the panel for crashes like this (incidental to combat flights) has been inconsistent across WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
