Document text
49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 1, 2004 Roy Erickson, former Medford cop, dies Erickson, who also was an MP at Camp White, said he got more trouble from GIs than the prisoners of war housed there By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Roy Erickson, the last known surviving POW guard at Camp White during World War II, died Monday at his Medford home. He was 83. Erickson, who retired from the Medford Police Department in 1975 after serving for 28 years, was a member of the military police company based at the Army camp from early 1943 through most of 1946. Now the Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center & Clinics, the facility housed up to 40,000 American GIs as well as about 2,000 German prisoners during the war. In a 1993 interview for the Mail Tribune, Erickson recalled the POW camp was surrounded by two parallel fences of barbed wire and patrolled by guard dogs. "... the POWs never gave us any problems, not like our GIs did," he said. "We used to walk three abreast down the street with a paddy wagon going slow behind us." Advertisement As the MPs came upon a drunk and disorderly American soldier, they would load him into the wagon, he said. "We had a place at the city jail where we would take them," he said. "About every two hours we’d call Camp White and get a big cattle truck to come in and pick them up and take them out to the stockade." After his discharge, Erickson joined MPD, where he received an award for saving a 10-year-old girl’s life on May 6, 1964. The incident, which required Erickson to perform artificial resuscitation, occurred on the corner of 12th and Holly streets, according to the May 7, 1964, edition of the Tribune. "The girl had fallen and Patrolman Erickson detected immediately that she was choking from congestion in the lungs," the front-page article said. "Erickson revived the girl and called an ambulance." Jack E. McMillan, who retired from the department as deputy chief in 1983 after 32 years in uniform, doesn’t remember the incident but it doesn’t surprise him that his old friend was there when he was needed. "He was a good officer who worked hard," he said. "He was well known around town. Everybody knew Roy Erickson. He was just an all-around nice guy." Erickson, who became a senior patrolman, rode motorcycles both on and off duty, McMillan recalled. "He was a very good motorcycle rider," he said. "But one time me and another fellow went to his house after we got new motorcycles. Roy wanted to take one for a spin. Well, he took a little spill in some gravel and broke his leg." In recent years, Erickson and McMillan and several other retirees would get together to chat over coffee five mornings a week, McMillan said. "The town will certainly miss him," he said, adding, "We are all better off for having known him." The shield Erickson wore, Badge No. 1, has been retired in his honor, according to Lt. Mike Moran. In addition to working as a police officer, Erickson taught many local residents to drive through his business, "Erickson’s Driver Training." He operated the business for about 20 years. Survivors include his wife, Barbara, and two grown children. Arrangements will be announced by Memory Gardens Mortuary in Medford. Reach reporter Paul Fattigat 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities