M. Fauteux Collection
Colt Model M .32 ACP
issued to Major General Edgar C. Erickson on
6/15/1959 upon his retirement. The pistol has never been
fired and the magazines are still in their sealed wrapper in
the box. The box has no print on it except for the
handwritten serial number on the top.
General Erickson was the chief of the National Guard and
had his office in the Pentagon. His military career started
in the early 1900's which put him in the Mexican Border Wars
against Poncho Villa. He was a lieutenant with the AEF under
Pershing fighting in France.
He ran for and won a state senate seat from the
Worcester, MA district and later became the adjutant general
of the state. He took a demotion to colonel to fight in WW
II. He spoke fluent Swedish and could converse in other
Scandinavian languages. He joked with relatives about the
Army and their infinite wisdom sending him to China to plan
and execute a rear holding action against the Japanese. He
said, "I never knew the Chinese could speak Swedish!"
He trained troops for Chiang Kai Shek and was asked to
stay on and help form an army to overthrow Mao. Instead he
came home and took his post in Washington, DC under the
Eisenhower administration. He had many rich and interesting
stories from his many years in the service and loved this
country very much.
He has many citations from Chiang Kai Shek. He also has much
correspondence from various U S Senators on the Armed
Services Committee congratulating him on his retirement.
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