George McPherson, USA
1. What is your object and how did it come to be in your possession?
May 23, 1977 was one of the proudest days of my life. I graduated from University that day, and I was also commissioned as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Both of my parents were there to help me celebrate. Little did I know that would be the last day that I would talk with my father, and a month later he would be dead.
June 16, 1977. Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It was an unusually cool summer evening, as these evenings go in Pennsylvania. But, Charles Leroy McPherson, age 65, did not feel the coolness. All he felt was the extreme heat of the home burning in front of him. All he could hear was the roar of the flames, and the cries and screams of the two boys that we trapped inside the burning house. Charles was a volunteer fireman for all of his adult life. The Fire Department had not arrived on the scene and there was no time to wait. He knew what he had to do.
Without hesitation, he ran into the burning home. Frantically searching through the smoke and the flames, he found the first boy, one of two brothers. He cradled the child in his arms and dashed out of the burning house to safety. But he was not done. The second boy was screaming frantically for help. The house was fully ablaze. One of my high school classmates, having witnessed the first rescue, could not believe her eyes when Charles ran back into the flames to find the second boy. She told me 26 years later it was the most courageous thing she ever saw.
The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall investigating the fire, said the internal temperature of the home was 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,927 C) when Charles ran in the second time. Charles searched valiantly for the second boy, while at the same time suffering severe burns and breathing in the scorching heat. Unfortunately, he did not find the second boy. When Charles ran out of the inferno and breathed in the cold night air, his lungs exploded. He fell to the ground and went into a coma, never to recover. He was taken to the hospital with third degree burns over 95% of his body.
The next morning, the firemen found the charred remains of the second boy. He was hiding behind the headboard of the bed.
June 17, 1977. Platoon Commander Training, Quantico, Virginia. As is customary with US military protocol, when a family member is seriously injured or dies, the American Red Cross contacts the spouse and children. I had just completed a full day of training, when I was called into the Commander’s office and received news of the tragedy that befell my family. My father was taken to the Chester Crozier Burn Center, the premier facility in the United States for severe burn injuries.
June 18, 1977. When I walked into my father’s room, I immediately saw his entire body was wrapped in bandages. He was on a heart-lung machine to keep him alive. I sat there for two hours wishing I could talk with him. I then had a very difficult conversation with his attending nurse. While she was compassionate, she was very honest. She told me that she sees cases like this all the time. She said they even had a good chance of winning the fight against the burns, but he would succumb to pneumonia within a week. He passed away on June 23, 1977.
As part of the settling of my father’s estate, I was tasked with going through his personal effects. He was an avid book reader, as am I. I was tasked to go through several rooms full of books. I did not find very many interesting books to keep, but I did find a certificate dealing with the origin of the McPherson name. The certificate was displayed in a cheap “gold-like” frame, with the glass broken. This fact did not bother me. The moment that I saw this item, I realized my father was interested in his Clan Macpherson heritage. At the time, I knew nothing about the Clan Macpherson. It was the only item I kept that day from his personal effects. I added dried heather from the 1996 Jubilee Gathering with the certificate. 1996 was the first time I went to Scotland. And, it is the item I submit for the Macphersoniana Project.
2. Why have you chosen this object for the Macphersoniana project?
This object was the start of my journey to learn about my Scottish history, culture, and traditions. Over the years, I kept thinking about my father’s interest in his Scottish roots. Finally, in 1994 I attended the Pleasanton Highland Games in California. I visited the Clan Macpherson tent and talked with those folks, but I did not join the Association. It was not until one year later, in 1995, that I went back to the Pleasanton Highland Games, and joined the Association. And that is how my journey began with the Clan Macpherson.
3. Why is this object important to you and what does it mean to you?
This object connects me with my father and our common interest in Clan Macpherson history, heritage and traditions. And by connecting me with my father, it also connects me with his father, and all the fathers before him.
Over the years, my wife Bonnie and I have collected many wonderful artefacts of the Clan Macpherson. But, to this day my favorite item is this wrinkled and faded certificate in the cheap “gold-like” frame. I display it proudly in my home.
4. What does this object tell us about what it means to be a Macpherson?
This object signifies that we all “walk in our father’s footsteps”. The courage displayed by my father, was displayed by the fathers before, and is evidenced throughout our clan history. The Gathering in 1996 was the first time I took part in the Macpherson March starting on the Eilean. As I marched that day across the Spey River Bridge, I truly felt I was walking in my fathers’ footsteps. As proud Macphersons, we should learn about our forefathers and be proud of their contributions to Macpherson history and culture, and it is our responsibility (the living) to preserve this history, culture, and traditions.
Macphersoniana 