S. Sgt. Len Erickson, whose home address is 921 20th street, was with a company that was caught in a terrific enemy barrage while advancing through a wooded area, and some casualties had to be taken to a chateau 300 yards to the rear. S. Sgt. Erickson assisted in the evacuation of the wounded men, walking through a hail of shrapnel in the woods, and across 50 yards of open ground in front of the chateau, without being hit by enemy fire. Afterward he expressed the opinion to his comrades that German aviators are poor observers, as they failed to drop a single shell on the 50 yards of open ground, on which any moving object should have been plainly seen from the sky.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, January 30, 1945
