S1c Robert Erickson

Robert Erickson was born Sept. 23, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.

The 1930 Census identified his father, Simon “Sam” Erick Erickson, as a farmer, and his mother, Ida Johnson Erickson, as a homemaker. They were immigrants from either Sweden or Finland. They were Lutherans.

By late October 1936 the family – which eventually included 10 children – moved to Snohomish, Washington north of Seattle. Robert completed 9th grade at the local high school and also worked for six months as a farm hand.

He enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 22, 1940, after receiving a waiver for falling a half-inch short of the minimum height requirement. He was five-foot, three-and-a-half-inches and weighed 125 pounds. His starting pay was $21 a month.

He was a seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

Two brothers served in WWII – Raymond Oscar in the Army and Arthur in the Navy.,

Sources: The Daily Tribune of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; The Daily Herald of Everett, Washington; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; draft registration card.; U.S. Department of Defense. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.