Discovering The Mature Lifestyle Golden Valley veteran spends his life working for peace. Page 3
Veterans
May 19, 2016
May Issue
St. Louis Park Navy veteran runs podcasts from his home BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rich Erickson f ound his life’ s work while he serv ed in the U .S. Navy from 1964-70. And he also f ound a seconds-long part in a movie. Erickson, a 30-y ear St. Louis P ark resident, taught Morse code to a Bo y Scout tr oop while he w as a student at Centr al High School in LaCr osse, Wisconsin, and also spent thr ee y ears teaching the Scouts basic ham radio theory to prepare them for the various ham radio test levels. He joined the Na vy R eserve as a junior in high school, during the summer of 1964. “I took m y basic training for six weeks at the Providence, Rhode Island Naval Base,” Erickson said. “W hen I gr aduated from high school in June of 1965, I went into active duty for six years. I w as in r adio school in Norf olk, Va., fr om January to April 1966 for equipment operations and to become certified to train others.” Erickson went to Char leston, South Car olina, then to Cuba, and e ventually to V ietnam. As a R adioman First Class, he was assigned to set up a 250-w att radio station. “While I w as acti ve in the Na vy, I maintained and trained other new personal on radio operation and basic trouble-shooting procedures along with running radio code nets,” Erickson said. While in San Francisco from January to June of 1968, ERICKSON - TO PAGE 3
Rich Erickson has a podcast studio at his home in St. Louis Park. (Submitted photo)