Posted on 08/24/2025 8:02:36 AM PDT by DFG
Donald McPherson, believed to be America’s last surviving “ace” from World War II, passed away on August 14, 2025. He was 103 years old.
McPherson earned the Congressional Gold Medal and three Distinguished Flying Crosses during his service as a US Navy pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex in the final battles of World War II.
McPherson enlisted on January 5, 1943, after the Navy waived a two-year college requirement for its aviation cadet training program. He earned his commission and wings at Corpus Christi, Texas, on August 12, 1944. He was assigned to fly a Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter and was a part of Fighter Squadron 83 when it was transferred to the USS Essex in March 1945, during the battle for Okinawa.
On his second evening aboard the Essex, McPherson recalled watching Japanese kamikaze bombers based on Kyushu in southern Japan attack the fleet. One bomber clipped the Essex’s radar tower before crashing into a nearby island. Another bomber seriously damaged the USS Hancock.
“This sure made us wonder what we had gotten ourselves in for,” McPherson recalled. 1
McPherson completed his first combat mission – a 300-mile flight to strike on an airfield at Nittigahara – on March 19, 1945. During the raid, his division, known as “Wonder-5” destroyed Mitsubishi G4M ‘Betty’ bombers on the ground. As he was pulling out from the attack, his plane’s engine stalled, and it was struck by anti-aircraft fire. McPherson was able to fly the plane back and successfully land on the USS 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,” he recalled.
Between March and June 1945, VF-83 flew 6,560 sorties from the Essex. McPherson’s group was credited with destroying 220 Japanese planes in the air and 72 on the ground. McPherson would become an ace after shooting down two Aichi D3A Val dive bombers near Kikai Shima off Okinawa on April 6, 1945. He would go on to destroy three Kawanishi E7k float biplanes, which were flying as kamikazes, on May 5, 1945.
McPherson was able to marry the "love of his life" Thelma Johnston, on August 17, 1944, after completing his training. After the war, he returned home to Adams, Nebraska, to work as a letter carrier. He is survived by his two daughters, a son, along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
McPherson was an active member of the Adams United Methodist Church, as well as the local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He also served as organizer, promoter, and coach for the Adams Summer Baseball and Softball leagues. The Associated Press reports that the community later named the ballfield McPherson Field in honor of him and his wife.
VF-83 formed part of Carrier Air Group 83 (CVG-83) assigned to the USS Essex. CVG-83 was in action in the Pacific theatre from 10 March to 15 September 1945 participating in raids on Kyushu, supporting the invasion of Okinawa, the discovery and sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato and other air strikes against the Japanese home islands.[2]
That's 189 days ... giving us approx 35 sorties per day for the squadron ... that would be in the neighborhood of two launches per aircraft per day, as opposed to more than three launches per aircraft per day using the March-June timeframe.
Do you even know how to read? Read it again, till it makes sense. Good Luck. LOL
I think I get it. It’s not saying he flew 55 sorties a day. They are saying the carrier launched 55 planes a day.
What information do you think might be incorrect?
55 sorties per day for the fighter squadron (more than 3/day for each Hellcat) does seem very busy. Almost too busy.
55 Sorties per day for the entire air wing (Fighter, Bomber, Torpedo, and Scout) seems insufficiently busy for mid 1945.
See also my post #21.
Believe it.
I read what you wrote. I personally would bet a lot that McPherson did not steal from the mail. The way you phrased it did, however, imply that McPherson was a thief, as many other letter carriers have been.
Try reading that post more slowly.
I did read it. When you challenge someone to a bet, you are in effect taking the opposing side. The poster challenged people to bet that McPherson was not a thief, thus implying that he believed McPherson was a thief. This apparently wasn’t what the poster actually believed, and I’m glad it wasn’t, but it certainly was what was posted.
My point was McPherson represented very well the type of men that made the Post Office work. That is not as evident today.
I understand that now. Sorry for the mutual misunderstanding.
“Mutual”? Er, no. LOL
My dad was a b24 pilot. Later on he and a couple guys bought a plane and we would go out on weekends for kicks. Just a little Cessna 180.
RIP Donald
My FIL was an aircraft mechanic aboard the USS Corregidor during WWII. He was convinced that no one was controlling the Kamikazes at the end of their flight. They were already dead from the lead coming at them from the ships.
My FIL’s ‘daytime job’ was fixing airplanes, but his combat role was an Anti-aircraft artillery gunner on the side of the carrier. He was in a 4-man crew - a shooter, a loader, and two runners for fresh ammunition. They alternated roles. He has said, “With the advanced radar warning of the attack, everyone was ready when they came close.”
One time, he said, that a Kamikaze appeared to be coming right at his position. At the last second, “one of “the big guns from above the deck, knocked a wing off the airplane.” The plane rolled over, and the other wing hit the water, cartwheeling the entire airplane over the ship. He said he could feel the heat from the burning airplane as it flew over.
Fortunately, he survived, as my wife and grandkids can attest.
OK, whatever. You screwed up your phrasing and I took it literally. So LOL right back at you.
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