Up
to this point in time Eric had already led a most interesting life.
Before he could walk, at age six months, he had learned to swim.
He had travelled by ship from Durban, South Africa to New York City.
He had made numerous round trips by auto across the continental United
States. He spent ten days in Hawaii with his family flying roundtrip
in a U.S. Air Force transport aircraft. Eric learned to water ski
at age seven and became an expert at the sport in his teens. He was
a member of the Filer High School wrestling team.
Eric loved
the outdoors, horseback riding, and hunting and camping. He was a
member of the Junior Rifle Club in Filer and became an expert with both
the rifle and shotgun. He owned his own horse and spent five seasons
packing into the remote areas of Central Idaho hunting big game with his
father. He killed his first deer at age thirteen years and got one
for the next four following years. When he was fifteen years old,
Eric's horse fell on him, breaking his ankle, just a week before elk hunting
season. Notwithstanding this handicap, he rode and hunted in the
mountains in a leg cast for ten days, and bagged a deer in the process.
When he was sixteen years old he shot a black bear while hunting in the
White Cloud mountains of Central Idaho. He loved to hunt pheasant,
duck and partridge and bagged his share each season.
Words to
describe Eric's personality must include: individualistic, self-reliant,
optomistic, cheerful and fearless.
Eric enlisted
in the Army at Twin Falls, Idaho in May of 1968 and received Basic Training
at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was sent to Ft. Rucker, Alabama for
mechanic and gunnery schools. He arrived in Vietnam in December 1968
and served with D Troup, Air Cavalry, 1st Division, and was killed
in action during a helicopter assault landing on November 1, 1969.
He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery
on his 20th Birthday, November 13, 1969.