Erickson, Patricia C., 92, March 2, 2013.
WINTER PARK, FL – Patricia Chadwick Erickson, 92, died on March 2, 2013, in Winter Park, FL. She was born June 13, 1920, in Houlton, Maine, the daughter of Harold and Nell Chadwick, a florist/nursery owner and artist.
In 1943, during WWII, she left Maine for the first time and went to Texas where she was in the 2nd graduating class of the WASP (Women Air Service Pilots). WASP women were trained in order to free up more Air Force male pilots for combat duty. Assigned to a ferrying division at Romulus Army Air Base in Michigan, she flew B-17s, B-24s, B-25s and other bombers and fighter planes in the military inventory.
Pat was honored on March 10, 2010, when the first female military pilots (WASP) received the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol.
She was again commem-orated on Feb. 18, 2011, when the “The Women Veterans Plaque: A Heritage of Service” was put on permanent display in the State House Hall of Flags in Augusta, Maine. The plaque depicts Maine women who served in U.S. military capacities over four centuries. Pat’s likeness is sculpted on the plaque as the 20th century woman.
Pat was predeceased by her husband, Carl E. Erickson, and her sister, Carolyn C. McVickers. She is survived by her brothers, John H. Chadwick of Augusta, Maine, and James M.Chadwick of San Jose, CA; two daughters and a son; and seven grandchildren in Florida.
