Donald McPherson, the U.S. Navy veteran thought to be America’s last surviving World War II ace, died earlier this month in Nebraska. He was 103.
According to the National World War II Museum, McPherson earned the Congressional Gold Medal and three Distinguished Flying Crosses during his service as a pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex in the final battles of World War II.
In March 1945, McPherson completed his first combat mission – a 300-mile flight to strike on an airfield at Nittigahara. During the raid, his division, known as “Wonder-5," destroyed Mitsubishi G4M ‘Betty’ bombers on the ground. But as McPherson was pulling out from the attack, his plane’s engine stalled, and it was struck by anti-aircraft fire. Despite that, he managed to safely make it back to land on the Essex.
“Upon inspection of the damage to the airplane, we found that a 20mm cannon shell had penetrated the fuselage about a foot behind my back and severed one of the cables that controlled the tail surface,” McPherson recalled.
McPherson enlisted on Jan. 5, 1943, after the Navy waived a two-year college requirement for its aviation cadet training program. He went on to earn his commission and wings at Corpus Christi, Texas, in Aug. 1944, and was assigned to fly a Grumman F6F Hellcat as part of Fighter Squadron 83 when it was transferred to the USS Essex in March 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa.
Between March and June 1945, Fighter Squadron 83 flew 6,560 sorties. And McPherson’s group was credited with destroying 220 Japanese planes in the air and 72 on the ground.
He would become an ace after shooting down two Aichi D3A Val dive bombers near Kikai Shima off Okinawa on April 6. One month later, he would destroy three Kawanishi E7k float biplanes, which were flying as kamikazes.
After returning home from the war, he went back Adams, Nebraska, and worked as a mail carrier. There, he helped establish youth baseball and softball leagues and served as a scoutmaster, as well as in several community leadership roles. The local ballfield was later named "McPherson Field" in recognition of him and his wife, Thelma, whom he married in August 1944, five days after receiving his wings.
He is survived by his daughters Beth and Donna, a son, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"When it’s all done and Dad lists the things he wants to be remembered for… his first thing would be that he’s a man of faith," McPherson's daughter Beth Delabar told the Beatrice Daily Sun, which first reported his death.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.