After the
United States Navy's
V-5 Aviation Cadet Program waived its two-year college requirement, McPherson enlisted in the Navy on January 5, 1943, and was appointed as an aviation cadet on February 4, 1944. He earned his commission and
naval aviator wings on August 12, 1944, at
NAS Corpus Christi in Texas.
World War II On August 13, 1944, following graduation from flight school, he traveled to
Daytona Beach, Florida, for advanced training in combat tactics. He reported to Flight 81 on August 18, a combat replacement unit where he spent the next three months training in fighter tactics, dive-bombing and gunnery. On October 1, McPherson received orders to report to
Naval Air Station Glenview in Illinois, for carrier qualification training. By November 8, he began practicing landings on the . His first attempt resulted in a gear failure, but he successfully landed on his second try. He then moved to , where he completed eight landings. This training equipped McPherson for his overseas combat tour. After completing his training at Glenview, he briefly returned home in Adams, Nebraska. He then received orders to report to
Naval Air Station San Diego for further assignment. Upon reporting to San Diego on December 8, he was informed that he and his unit would not leave for overseas duty until December 18. On December 18, he boarded a seaplane tender bound for
Pearl Harbor. Upon arrival at Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to
VF-100 to undergo refresher training. Training commenced at
Naval Air Station Barbers Point where pilots participated in organized tactical training. On January 6, 1945, McPherson performed his first landings on an
Essex-class aircraft carrier off
Hawaii. Over the following days, the pilots practiced arrested landings on carriers. On February 18, 1945, McPherson was ordered to report to
VF-83, which was equipped with the
Grumman F6F Hellcat, as a replacement pilot. On the following day, he boarded a British troopship bound for
Ulithi Atoll in the
Caroline Islands. On March 10, VF-83 was assigned to carrier . On March 13, he flew his first combat mission on a combat air patrol mission over Ulithi. On March 19, he took part in a pre-dawn attack on Nittigahara airfield in
Kyushu. During the attack, he destroyed a
Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' bomber on the ground. As he pulled up from the attack run, the engine of his F6F Hellcat quit. He managed to activate the manual fuel pump and restart his engine. He was then struck by anti-aircraft fire. Despite this, McPherson managed to nurse his F6F back to
Essex. Following this, McPherson continued to fly ground-attack strikes on Japanese targets. On April 6, during a mission to counter
kamikaze strikes against American ships during the
Battle of Okinawa, McPherson shot down two
Aichi D3A 'Val' dive bombers near
Kikaijima, with other VF-83 pilots shooting down over 67 other Japanese planes. On May 4, he shot down three
Yokosuka K5Y 'Willow' floatplanes that were attempting a kamikaze strike, earning him the title of flying ace. McPherson left military service following the end of World War II. He was awarded three
Distinguished Flying Crosses and four
Air Medals for his actions during the war. He flew an F6F bearing the name ''Death 'n Destruction''. ==Later life and death==