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Lieutenant MacPherson A. Lester -
(1918 -1984)

(Bigography written by wife, Addie Lester)

"I met 'Mac' on a blind date in Sacramento, California. He was a cadet at Mather Air Force base. I was a stenographer for the State Department of Agriculture and a little shy of blind dates. It all worked out O.K. After a brief courtship, Mac and I were married on January 30, 1943 in a small church around the corner.

Mac graduated from Mather Field as a Second Lieutenant as part of Class WC-43-2 as an Aerial Navigator. He was tops in his class and his superior Officer finally talked Mac into becoming an instructor in navigation at Mather for the next year. This was fine with me as I could continue on with my job. Then the whole navigation school from Mather was moved to Houston, Texas. Houston was terrible weather wise and Mac was teaching celestial navigation and had yet to fly his first mission.

Mac had been promised the first "good" assignment that came up. It finally came through and we were on our way across the country to Boca Raton, Florida, supposedly a permanent assignment. When we arrived in Florida, Mac checked in and was told he would probably be there for six (6) weeks or so, not very permanent. Next stop, Pass Christian and Gulfport, Mississippi. From there Mac was told they would be flying the planes to the Pacific coast to be modified and fitted for overseas assignment.  He and his crew flew their plane to the coast. I drove the 2476 miles to San Francisco. I had along one of the crew's wives who I found out was pregnant and very anxious to get to the coast and see her husban before he went overseas.

It was July 1, 1944 when I watched Mac's PBY go over the Golden Gate bridge enroute to somewhere in the South Pacific. I returned to Sacramento and my job at Agriculture and as many other wives, wrote hundreds of letters to an APO Number and hoped for the best.

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