PHOTO RELEASE: Air Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilot

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 09/27/2019 05:17 PM EDT

united states coast guard 

 Photo Release  

U.S. Coast Guard 8th District Public Affairs Detachment Texas
Contact: 8th District Public Affairs Detachment Texas
Office: (281) 464-4810
After Hours: (832) 293-1293
PA Detachment Texas online newsroom

Air Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilot 

Air Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilotAir Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilotAir Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilotAir Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilotAir Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilotAir Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilotAir Station Houston honors first Coast Guard helicopter pilot

Editors' Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.

HOUSTON — Coast Guard Air Station Houston held a memorial ceremony Friday to rededicate the headstone of Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot #1, Capt. Frank Erickson, whose contributions to naval aviation forever changed search and rescue. 

Born in Portland, Oregon, Erickson served in the Navy before enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard. He received an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy and was commissioned in 1931. While at the Academy, Erickson developed a passionate interest in the techniques of search and rescue and, on May 14, 1935, became Coast Guard Aviator #32. 

In 1943, Erickson was selected to be the first Coast Guard aviator to qualify as a helicopter pilot, and just shortly thereafter, on Jan. 3, 1944, he piloted the first helicopter rescue mission. You can read more about Erickson and his contributions to naval aviation here: https://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2019/02/the-long-blue-line-lt-cmdr-frank-erickson-coast-guard-pioneer-of-helicopter-flight/. 

-USCG-