(Adapted from the obituary in The San Diego Union Tribune, 23 September 2008)

Born and raised in Illinois, Eric Sherman moved to San Diego in March of 1941 where he met and married a sweet local girl, Ethel Currier. He worked for the Southern California Telephone Company from June of 1941 until he entered the Army Air Force Cadet Program in March of 1942.



Made a 2nd Lieutenant, he was assigned to the 446th Bomb Group on 3 June 1943 at Alamagordo, New Mexico. Sent to Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado for further training, he accompanied the air echelon to Europe.



Eric became a B-24 lead pilot in the 8th Air Force’s 446th Bomber Group in England. He flew his first mission on 16 December 1943 and was shot down on his 28th mission on 21 July 1944, piloting B-24 “Quivering Box” # 42-100315.



Immediately captured after landing in parachute, he was made a Prisoner of War (POW) and interned at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Northern Germany. The camp was liberated by the Russian Army in May 1945.



Repatriated to the USA, Eric returned to civilian life and his career at the telephone company in San Diego in January of 1947. He retired from the telephone company (Pacific Bell) and from the Air Force Reserves in 1980 as a Lt. Colonel.



Eric loved sports and played locally AAA and AA fast pitch softball. He belonged to Torrey Pines, Coronado and Balboa Golf Courses and a couple of local bowling leagues.