Kenneth Ericksen

Introduction to Ken Ericksen, the man behind this book…

Kenneth Ericksen was born in Spokane, Washington on March 2, 1932, to Erick and Evelyn Ericksen. Ken grew up with five siblings: his twin brother, Keith; sisters Anna Mae Ericksen and Modelle Radford; and brothers Russell and Patrick.

In 1952, during the Korean War, at the age of 20, Ken joined the United States Navy on a four-year enlistment. After serving briefly in the Aleutian Islands in the Pacific, Ken was ordered to serve on the USS Hamner (DD-718) in 1953 and remained aboard until 1956. Ken then was released from active duty and served four years in the Naval reserves. After he received an honorable discharge in 1960, Ken married Evelyn Holm later that year, and they lived in San Diego, California, the Hamner’s homeport. Ken had a long career working for the Department of Defense in San Diego in various positions. Ken also attended National University, earning a master’s degree in business. Ken and Evelyn spent their final years in Hayden, Idaho after Ken retired from the federal government.

As a naval historian and former president of the San Diego Maritime Research Society, Ken gave numerous lectures aboard the Star of India in San Diego, describing life aboard a destroyer and U.S. Naval history, such as Lt. Charles Wilkes’ participation in the United States Exploring Expedition of 1846 and its aftermath. He also published articles on Lt. Wilkes.

Ken became a pilot and joined the Civil Air Patrol. He wrote a children’s story on flying and created displays of planes and their flights. Ken’s twin brother, Keith, was also a member of the Civil Air Patrol.

In 1992, the USS Hamner (DD-718) Association was established by a voluntary group of shipmates. Ken supported and participated in the association from the beginning, arriving at the first reunion in Idaho in his VW “Bug” with “USS Hamner DD-718 1953-56” painted across its back hood. From 1992 until his death, Ken was a charter member and served as historian for the association. As of this writing Ken holds the record for number of annual reunions of the association which he attended consecutively (twenty-one) and total number attended (twenty-two) by a member. In 1996, Ken was awarded a commendation from the association’s president for his dedicated service as Historian. That dedication would continue until he passed away in 2021.

During his time as historian for the association, Ken collected an abundance of information about the Hamner from shipmates, Naval resources, the U.S. Archives in Maryland, and the family of Lt. Henry Rawlings, after whom the ship was named. With this collection of data and photographs, Ken began writing the history of the Hamner and transcribed most of those pages into a set of History Cards he personally created, printed, and distributed to all of the shipmates he met at the association’s annual reunions. The first time many shipmates met Ken, he would tell them he had something to give them and handed them a set of the cards with a smile.

At each reunion Ken led his shipmates in singing his favorite Naval song, “Anchors Aweigh”. He would pass out the sheet music, turn on his CD player and everyone would join in song. The association continues this tradition of singing Anchors Aweigh at reunions, in Ken’s honor.

Ken’s generosity did not stop with these efforts; he also frequently treated his shipmates and guests to special events at reunions linked to his favorite subject, US Naval history. In 2010, Ken provided a catered reception on the liberty ship the SS Jeremiah O’Brien at Pier 45 in San Francisco, California. This was a memorable event for all who attended. Ken was a perfectionist---he made sure that even the wine glasses were just what he wanted---bought just for this one event. Four years later, he again treated his fellow shipmates to lunch served in the crew’s mess on the USS Turner Joy (DD-951) in Bremerton, Washington. This was the last reunion Ken was able to attend, due to his deteriorating health

Ken passed away on October 12, 2021, leaving his love of the Hamner, her crew, and her history in this book. His shipmates, their families, and friends who came to know and love this man miss him dearly.