Walter McLean, AB '56
Naval medical officer, allergist, medical examiner, sailor, band player
Walter lives full time on Cape Cod and has been a member of the HCCC for 40 years. His most memorable time at Harvard was the love he had for the Harvard Band. Indeed, the friendships he developed there are the most important ones from his college years. As a resident of Dudley (commuter’s) House, he enjoyed many classmates from Boston Latin School. In his junior year, he met his dear wife, Frances, at a Girls’ Latin School Prom. They have known each other now for 70 years of which 65 years has been married life. They have been blessed with six children, nine grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
Walter joined the 86th Army National Guard in 1952 and continue drilling for seven years until 1959. He was active in that unit during his college career and in 1959 transferred to the Navy Medical Corps at the beginning of his senior year at Boston University Medical School. He trained as a Naval Flight Surgeon at Pensacola and continued his navy career for 20 years, retiring as a Navy Captain in 1979.
After serving his country for a total of 27 years, he then practiced medicine for another 40 years on Cape Cod as an allergist and Aviation Medical Examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration.
His interests have been in small sailboat racing and sailing yachts here on the Cape and in the Caribbean. His love for music has never diminished and he has been playing first Euphonium horn in the Falmouth Town band since 1981 and looking forward to playing again each summer on Thursday evenings at the Falmouth Town Bandstand by Falmouth Harbor.