From the desk of Jan Hommel, American Freedom Museum Director:

Arden Melvin Erickson’s Coast Guard uniform has found its home in the American Freedom Museum. Mr. Erickson enlisted in the United States Coast Guard at the age of 19 on February 7, 1942 and was honorably discharged on February 9, 1946. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific aboard a supply ship. Mr. Erickson was an educator and a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church of Tyler. He was buried at sea by the Coast Guard near Galveston, Texas, on February 28, 2014.

After the completion of this new exhibit, we had the honor of a private showing for his wife, Mrs. Helen D. Erickson, of Bullard Texas.

United States Coast Guard
Motor Machinist’s Mate First Class
Arden Melvin Erickson