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Donald Ericson in boxing pose, Marine Corps Station, El Toro, California [1952]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 1st MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); 3rd Marine Division
  • Location of Service: California; Japan; Korea; North Carolina
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/63573

View full service history

"...I felt that I was doing more for the Marine Corps by influencing young men to enlist, than I was sitting on my tail...and playing radio operator" (audio interview, 00:31:05.0)

Donald Huston Ericson's pugnacious motto, "don't mess with me unless you want a fight," helped him fit right in with the Marine Corps. Ericson served stateside as a middleweight fighter on a Marine Corps boxing team, eventually fighting in the National Golden Gloves. He often found himself working with recruiters, going to high schools around southern California to put on a show and encourage young men to enlist. While deployed to Japan, an injury to his brain during a fight ended his boxing career, but not his love for the Marine Corps or the sport. In later life he became an official for the U.S.A. Boxing Program.

Donald Huston Ericson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Donald Huston Ericson Collection

Names

  • Ericson, Donald Huston
  • Douglas County Libraries Archives and Local History
  • Gray, Annette
  • Belt, Barbara A.

Home State

  • Colorado

Headings

  • -  Ericson, Donald Huston
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 1st MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); 3rd Marine Division
    • Location of Service: California; Japan; Korea; North Carolina
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1952-1960
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-02-17)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [8 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1952-1955)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1954)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2005-02-17)
  • Photograph: Photographic print [7 items] -- Photograph (collected 1952-1954)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2005-02-17; 2008-11-20)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/63573

Cite as

  • Donald Huston Ericson Collection (AFC/2001/001/63573), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ericson, Donald Huston, Douglas County Libraries Archives And Local History, Annette Gray, and Barbara A Belt. Donald Huston Ericson Collection. 1952. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.63573/.

APA citation style:

Ericson, D. H., Douglas County Libraries Archives And Local History, Gray, A. & Belt, B. A. (1952) Donald Huston Ericson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.63573/.

MLA citation style:

Ericson, Donald Huston, et al. Donald Huston Ericson Collection. 1952. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.63573/>.