Edgar C. Erickson (July 18, 1896 – March 31, 1989) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

major general who served as

chief of the National Guard Bureau The chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) is the highest-ranking officer of the National Guard and the head of the National Guard Bureau. The position is a statutory office (), held by a federally recognized commissioned officer who has ser ...

Early life

Edgar Carl Erickson was born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, on July 18, 1896, and was educated in the schools of Worcester.

Pancho Villa Expedition

In April 1914, Erickson enlisted in Company H, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. In 1916 he served with his unit on the Mexican border during the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

World War I

Erickson was a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

when he received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1917. He served with 2nd Battalion, 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Post World War I

After the war Erickson became a partner in Erickson Steel, a company formed to produce

prefabricated building A prefabricated building, informally a prefab, is a building that is manufactured and constructed using prefabrication. It consists of factory-made components or units that are transported and assembled on-site to form the complete building. Vario ...

s. He later worked as general manager of Worcester's Hedlund

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

Company. In 1932 he graduated from the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. A Republican, he served in the

Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the s ...

from 1933 to 1936, representing

Massachusetts Senate's 2nd Worcester district Massachusetts Senate's 2nd Worcester district in the United States is one of 40 legislative districts of the Massachusetts Senate. It covers portions of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester county. Massachusetts Democratic Party, Democrat M ...

. He subsequently served as superintendent of the Worcester County Training School. Having maintained his membership in the National Guard, by 1939 Erickson had risen to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and commander of the 181st Infantry Regiment.

World War II

Erickson served as the

Adjutant General of Massachusetts The Adjutant General of Massachusetts is the highest-ranking military official in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is subordinate to the Governor of Massachusetts. The Adjutant General advises the Governor on military and emergency managemen ...

from 1939 to 1942 with the rank of brigadier general. In 1940 he was also called to federal service as the Director of

Selective Service The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription (i.e., the draft). ...

for Massachusetts. In 1942 Erickson accepted a reduction to colonel in order to serve in uniform overseas. He was assigned as liaison officer to the

Chinese Nationalist Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the de facto national armed forces of ...

for the remainder of the war.

Post World War II

After the war Erickson was assigned to the

National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...

. His assignments included: chief of the Infantry Regulations Branch; Chief of Plans; acting chief of the Army Division; and acting deputy chief of the National Guard Bureau. In 1953 Erickson was appointed chief of the National Guard Bureau, and he served until his 1959 retirement. As NGB chief, Erickson oversaw an increase in authorized personnel strength and a corresponding recruiting effort to fill the positions, as well as the fielding of the first jet fighters for units of the Air National Guard and the fielding of modern

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s for the Army National Guard's

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

units.

Awards and decorations

Erickson's awards included the

Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army) The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, and

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Retirement and death

In retirement Erickson resided in Worcester and

Sun City, Arizona Sun City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The population wa ...

. He died in

Rutland, Massachusetts Rutland is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,049 at the 2020 census. Rutland is the geographic center of Massachusetts; a tree, the Central Tree, located on Central Tree Road, marks the general spo ...

' Holden Nursing Home on March 31, 1989, and was buried at Worcester County Memorial Park in Paxton.

Legacy

The Erickson Trophy is awarded annually to the distinguished graduates of each of the state National Guard Officer Candidate Schools. The actual trophy and an inscribed list of recipients is maintained on display at National Guard Bureau, with replicas presented to each winner.

Family

In 1920 he married Nancy I. Sundstrom (1898–1982). They had one son, Russell, who died in 1987.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Edgar C. 1896 births 1989 deaths Adjutants General of Massachusetts United States Army personnel of World War I Chiefs of the National Guard Bureau Republican Party Massachusetts state senators National Guard (United States) generals People from Rutland, Massachusetts People from Sun City, Arizona Military personnel from Worcester, Massachusetts Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals United States Army generals of World War II 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court