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Note: Holbrook birth records indicate that Elmer Robert Macpherson was born in Braintree, MA on 2 Aug 1926 to Kenneth and Thelma (Elwell) MacPherson who were residents of Holbrook, MA. Kenneth was a barber who was born in Brighton, MA, and Thelma was born in Maplewood, MA
Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, Elmer Roy MacPherson b. 15 Aug 1926 in Braintree, MA to Kenneth N MacPherson and Thelma Elwell. AKA, Edward R. MacPherson. DOD: 01 May 1996.
U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775-2006 [database on-line]. Provo, Edward R MacPherson, b. 15 Aug 1926, d. 1 May 1996. Interment: 08 May 1996 in Mass National Cemetery, Bourne, Barnstable, MA. Seaman, USN WWII.
Name: Edward R MacPherson
Service Info.: SN US NAVY WORLD WAR II
Birth Date: 15 Aug 1926
Death Date: 1 May 1996
Service Start Date: 6 Sep 1943
Interment Date: 8 May 1996
Cemetery: Massachusetts National Cemetery
Cemetery Address: Off Connery Avenue Bourne, MA 02532
Buried At: Section 22 Site 605
Source: U.S. Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2006 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
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Edward R Mac Pherson enlisted in the US Naval Reserve on 6 Sept 1943 in Boston, MA. Navy Service Number (NSN: 762-24-64). S2/c MacPherson reported aboard the USS Design (AM-219) on the day of her commissioning, 29 Jun 1944 from the Marine Corps Training Center (MCTC), Little Creek, VA. USS Design was a steel-hulled Admirable class minesweeper that was launched 6 Feb 1944 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, FL; commissioned 29 Jun 1944, Lt L.A. Young, USNR, in command. Design sailed from New York on 8 Sep 1944 and escorted a convoy to Pearl Harbor. Over the next several months she returned to the West Coast and sailed with another convoy to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 09 Dec 1944. She set sail for the distant Pacific and arrived in Eniwetok on 29 Dec 1944. For the next three months Design provided convoy and patrol duties at Kossol Roads, Palau; Saipan; Ulithi; Guam; Hollandia, New Guinea; and San Pedro Bay, Leyte. On 26 March Design arrived off Okinawa for pre-invasion minesweeping during which she also provided rescue services for the survivors of YMS-103, another minesweeper that had struck a mine. After a short overhaul in San Pedro Bay, Design returned to Okinawa on 01 Sep 1945 and sailed a week later to clear Wakanoura Wan, Honshu, Japan for occupation forces. On 17 Sep 1945 S2c MacPherson was sentenced to a reduction in rank by a Summary Court Martial (changes unknown). Design continued to sweep mines off Nagoya, Japan, and in the East China Sea, then departed Sasebo 20 November for the west coast, arriving at San Diego, California, 19 December. On 10 January 1946 she got underway for Galveston, Texas, and Orange, Texas. Apprentice Seaman MacPherson was transferred from Design on 4 Mar 1946 to the Receiving Station Galveston, TX for rehabilitation leave and for further assignment (FFA). She was decommissioned on 24 Aug 1946 and after being reclassified MSF-219 in 1955 she was struck from the naval register in 1960. Design participated in operations during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and the Battle of Okinawa. She earned 3 battle stars for her service during WWII.
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