Walter McPherson
WALTER J. MCPHERSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Walter J. McPherson was born on June 3, 1917, in Crosby, North Dakota, to George McPherson and Agnes Tracy McPherson. He was one of five children. During the Depression, Walt served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1937. In 1937 he enlisted in the Army, where he served until 1940. The outbreak of World War II took Walt back into military service. He joined the Navy in 1943, serving as a turret gunner on PT Boat 254. His boat patrolled the northern Pacific waters off the coast of Alaska. During his service in the Navy, he met Irene Renner, and they were married on June 21, 1944, in Seattle, Washington.
Walt worked at several jobs following his service in the military. He started working for the Lucky Lager Brewing Company in Vancouver, Washington in 1955 and retired in 1979 from his position as Quality Control Engineer. Walt died on August 26, 1997. He loved to read and travel, and enjoyed boating, fishing, and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Irene, raised three daughters: Maxine, Marlene, and Maureen. Walt is survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His service in the military stayed with him throughout his life. He had a great love for the PT Boats of World War II and later in life became active with helping perpetuate the history of these unique boats. Walt believed in the education of young men and women. Through the generous donations of his family and friends, The Military Science Scholarship Endowment Fund established a scholarship award in his memory in August 1997 to benefit ROTC students of any major at Oregon State University and Western Oregon University.
The PT Boat was a small, wooden craft that carried enough
firepower to sink a battleship, was faster than anything on
the water, and could sneak right up to shore to perform
reconnaissance or drop off troops. The crew consisted of
about 14 men, one or two of whom were officers. What made
the all-volunteer crew different was the breadth of their
training. The crew members on a typical ship were trained in
a specialty, and there were several crew members trained in
the same job. Without the luxury of replacements, the crew of
a PT Boat was trained to do every job on the boat, with one or
two being their specialty.