Rear Admiral Walter L. McLean (1855 – March 21, 1930) was the American commander of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard from November 25, 1915, until February 4, 1918.

The course of action was therefore to keep the foreign ships and their crews as "guests" of the United States for years.

According to the New York Times, he was with Admiral George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, during the Spanish–American War.

When the United States entered the war in 1917, the ship was renamed as USS Von Steuben and turned into a troop transport.

When the second-in-command of Kronprinz Wilhelm, Alfred Niezychowski, got married in 1927, McLean was best man.