OSCAR W. ERICKSON, LCDR, USN
Oscar Erickson '16
Lucky Bag
From the 1916 Lucky Bag:
Oscar William Erickson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
"Swede" "Oscar" "Tecum" "Lena"
THERE are two things that he has demonstrated to us, namely: Indians are not the only animals that grow in Oklahoma, and all Swedes do not say "Ay ban." Oscar came to us a shy, quiet little man, but his gigantic pedal extremities and his marked general resemblance to "Ikky Buck" of comic fame soon brought him notoriety among his classmates.
Having had lots of practice kicking ant hills on the prairies, Oscar went out for football Plebe Year, and has been out ever since. His diminutive stature is against him in that line of endeavor, but we respect and admire his pluck. He pulled through Plebe Year well to windward of a 2.5—witness the fact that he is still with us—thereby surprising many, among whom were numbered some of his instructors. But the greatest surprise of all, and one which left us gasping for weeks, was his antics June Week. He fussed, and she got a sat mark, even from the fiercest of Red Mikes; he dragged, and all the coming social aides starred her in dancing. By the time we had recovered from the shock, we were half-way to Antwerp, but we let him have it the rest of the cruise. Even at this late date, one has but to whisper to him gently the name of "Lena," or hiss "Oglevitch," and the space between his ears is bridged by a row of teeth, while every bristle in his crest droops.
The Swede is a member of the old Seventh Company gang, and he has for four years been faithful and devoted wife to Admiral Rhudy; his heritage of Northern blood, coupled with his Western breeziness, serving to offset that Southern gentleman's easy-going philosophy of life.
The ship that gets him, could she be run by her most junior officer, would be the kind we've dreamed about.
Buzzard; Class Soccer (1).
Oscar William Erickson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
"Swede" "Oscar" "Tecum" "Lena"
THERE are two things that he has demonstrated to us, namely: Indians are not the only animals that grow in Oklahoma, and all Swedes do not say "Ay ban." Oscar came to us a shy, quiet little man, but his gigantic pedal extremities and his marked general resemblance to "Ikky Buck" of comic fame soon brought him notoriety among his classmates.
Having had lots of practice kicking ant hills on the prairies, Oscar went out for football Plebe Year, and has been out ever since. His diminutive stature is against him in that line of endeavor, but we respect and admire his pluck. He pulled through Plebe Year well to windward of a 2.5—witness the fact that he is still with us—thereby surprising many, among whom were numbered some of his instructors. But the greatest surprise of all, and one which left us gasping for weeks, was his antics June Week. He fussed, and she got a sat mark, even from the fiercest of Red Mikes; he dragged, and all the coming social aides starred her in dancing. By the time we had recovered from the shock, we were half-way to Antwerp, but we let him have it the rest of the cruise. Even at this late date, one has but to whisper to him gently the name of "Lena," or hiss "Oglevitch," and the space between his ears is bridged by a row of teeth, while every bristle in his crest droops.
The Swede is a member of the old Seventh Company gang, and he has for four years been faithful and devoted wife to Admiral Rhudy; his heritage of Northern blood, coupled with his Western breeziness, serving to offset that Southern gentleman's easy-going philosophy of life.
The ship that gets him, could she be run by her most junior officer, would be the kind we've dreamed about.
Buzzard; Class Soccer (1).
Loss
Oscar was lost on November 5, 1931 when the aircraft he was piloting crashed while attempting to land on USS Saratoga (CV 3). He was commanding officer of Scouting Squadron (VS) 2B.
Other Information
Per The Daily Oklahoman, November 6, 1931, via researcher Kathy Franz:
Erickson was planning to tow a target for aerial gunnery practice. As he took off the towing cable boke, and he circled the ship to land. The landing hook caught in the arresting gear on the deck and the plane swerved overside.
Erickson and [George H.] Cummings freed themselves and started swimming, but before a rope could be thrown to them, Erickson sank. Two sailors dived overboard to assist the officer, and he was taken aboard the Saratoga a few minutes later unconscious. All efforts to revive him failed. The only apparent injury Erickson suffered was a slight laceration on the forehead. . . .
He was stationed on the battleship Aroostock while a search for fliers missing on the Dole flight was being conducted.
Erickson had survived two spectacular plane crashes previously without serious injury. In August 1929, while flying a navy bomber and testing parachutes over the Philadelphia navy yard field, where he was then pilot and chief inspector, the engine and propellor of his ship fell out. Although his companion jumped from the plane with a parachute, Erickson landed safely.
While still chief inspector at the Philadelphia field in July this year, Erickson crashed with a navy bomber at the field. He was testing parachutes in the second accident. One, attached to a 200-pound dummy, opened prematurely and caused the plane to go out of control.
Erickson only recently was placed in command of the scouting squadron aboard the Saratoga, having been in command of an observation squadron previously.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Oscar attended Washington grade school and graduated from Central high school in Oklahoma City in 1912. He graduated in three years. He and his brother were members of the Athenaean Debating society.
Oscar was chosen first alternate for the Naval Academy by Senator Owen in April 1912. He was also chosen second alternate by Congressman Dick T. Morgan.
In 1917, Oscar was commander of the gun crew on the Aylwin. The Daily Oklahoman, June 3, 1917, quoted a news article, written by Carl D. Groat on the American fleet. “I sat up in a 14-inch double turret with a chap named Erickson, fresh from Annapolis only a short time ago. Clean cut and commanding of appearance, he had that gun crew working like the captain of a baseball nine would have his men.”
In 1918, Oscar was chief engineer officer on the USS Taylor, a torpedo boat destroyer. His brother Arthur was a lieutenant in the aviation corps, and his brother-in-law Clifford Loucks was a field clerk attached to General Pershing’s expeditionary forces in France.
Oscar married Constance Eugenie Fernandez in New York City on July 28, 1917. In January 1920, they lived in Vallejo, California, and in May 1924, they sailed from Honolulu to San Francisco. In June 1940, she was financially secure and living in a Beverly Hills apartment. However, she admitted to stealing $14 worth of items from two stores.
Oscar’s father was John, a drayman in 1900, mother Sophia, sister Jennie (Mrs. Clifford Loucks,) and brother Arthur. His parents were both born in Sweden.
He landed a severely damaged airplane in July 1929.
He was survived by his wife, mother, sister, and brother; he is buried in Oklahoma.
Photographs
From the 1916 Lucky Bag
From The Daily Oklahoman on November 6, 1931
From his high school yearbook; the Erickson brothers debate in 1911
From his 1912 (senior year) high school yearbook
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.
January 1917
March 1918
January 1919
January 1920
January 1921
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
LTjg Fitzhugh Rhea '24 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Charles McDonald '24 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Richard Moss '24 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
January 1928
LTjg Charles McDonald '24 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
April 1928
LTjg Charles McDonald '24 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT Edwin Conway '20 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
