Private First Class McPherson was a member of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 30 November 1950 and died while a prisoner on 21 April 1951.

McPherson was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.