He enlisted in 1941 and studied photography at the Naval Training School in Pensacola, and after graduation taught as an instructor/lecturer. He was assigned to a Combat Photographic Team, shooting stills and movies in combat zones. Erickson was shot down twice in the Pacific, and was twice wounded. He was one of the combat photographers to cover the surrender of the Japanese on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor at the end of WWII. He shot over 200,000 feet of film for the Navy. Erickson left the Navy in December 1945, a Chief Photographer?s Mate.
