Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Riley McDowell | Sailors aboard the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), paused...... read more read more
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Sailors aboard the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), paused to reflect on the legacy of the ship’s namesake, the 38th President of the United States, the honorable Gerald R. Ford Jr., on his birthday July 14.
The ship’s motto is “Integrity at the Helm”, a testament to how Ford lived his life.
“With his quiet integrity, common sense and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency,” said President George W. Bush in a statement to the nation December 27, 2006. Ford, who died the day before at the age of 93, has been remembered for the manner in which he handled the Oval Office while the nation was in crisis.
Gerald R. Ford was born to Dorothy Ayer and Leslie Lynch King in 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. Shortly after his birth he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and assumed the name of his step-father. Ford grew up idolizing his stepfather, who adopted him at the age of two, and was a small-time business man in the Midwest during the depression. Ford went on to become an Eagle Scout, an all-American football player, a law graduate and a war hero.
As the University of Michigan football team captain, he set the tone on racial inequality and injustice, when during a 1934 football game an opposing team refused to take the field because of Michigan player Willis Ward, a black man. Ford intended to quit the team to stand up for what is right, until he was convinced by Ward to continue playing, Ford took the field and they defeated their opponents.
During World War II, Ford was assigned as a Navigation Officer on the USS Monterey (CVL-26) and as a junior officer, he found himself in the middle of a typhoon as the ship tried to navigate through the Philippine Sea. Ford lead firefighting efforts as aircraft inside the ship’s hangar bay collided against one another causing explosions to erupt and setting the ship a blaze.
It was these types of heroic and ethical acts that are constant reminders to the Ford crew that President Ford was a man who exemplified the Navy’s core values.
“You couldn’t have chosen a better name for a capital warship,” said Cmdr. Homer Hensy, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma, Ford’s chief engineer. “Having a first-in-class crew, doing hard work every day. It’s going to prove honor to the President and his presidency and all he did.”
Ford became the 38th president of the United States in 1974 after President Nixon resigned due to pressure around the Watergate scandal. During his three years in office, Ford attempted to heal a broken nation. He pardoned Nixon and draft dodgers of the Vietnam War in an effort to move on from the wounds of the past and to begin a brand-new era in American history, but Ford’s most notable achievements involve foreign policy; easing tensions in the Cold War, rebuilding Vietnam and working as a mediator in the Middle East.
"His greatest achievement that I can see would be the forethought and wherewithal to put the country back on a path towards unity after a lot of division throughout the war and Nixon’s impeachment proceedings,” said Lt. Kenny Young, from Mount Carmel, Illinois, one of Ford’s divisional supply officers. “To make the hard decisions regardless of political repercussions.”
USS Gerald R. Ford was christened on November 9, 2013 by one of the president’s daughters, Susan Ford Bales. Ford learned, just before his passing, that the U.S. Navy would name a new class of aircraft carriers in his honor. Secretary of Defense at the time, Donald Rumsfeld informed Ford of the decision.
“Being on the Gerald R. Ford has been an honor,” said Boatswains Mate 3rd Class Mesigah Bocco, from Omaha, Nebraska,. “I’ve been on the Ford for over five years now. It’s been a challenge, but I’m proud to be here. I’m very honored to be here because it has made me who I am today. It’s made me a better person. And most importantly I have gotten to meet a lot of people from around the world and those people have shaped me in a way I can never forget.”
Happy Birthday Mr. President.
For more news from USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), visit www.dvidshub.net/unit/CVN78
| Date Taken: | 07.14.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2020 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 373897 |
| Location: | US |
| Hometown: | MOUNT CARMEL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | OMAHA, NEBRASKA, US |
| Hometown: | PAWHUSKA, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 213 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Ford Sailors Celebrate Birthday of Ship’s Namesake, by PO2 Riley McDowell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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