This week, the United States mourns the loss of former president, Gerald Ford. We remember him for his fundamental decency and his optimism about what our people can accomplish in the pursuit of ambitious goals, including the exploration of space.
Born Leslie King Jr. in Omaha, Neb., on July 14, 1913, he was the only child of Leslie and Dorothy Gardner King. After his parents divorced in 1915, his mother moved to Grand Rapids, Mich., and married Gerald R. Ford. Young Leslie was renamed for his stepfather, becoming Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.
In high school, Ford captained the football team, earning a scholarship to the University of Michigan. Before graduating in 1935, he became a star center for the Wolverines. After graduation, he accepted a position as assistant football coach at Yale University, which gave him an opportunity to attend Yale Law School. He received his law degree in 1941.
Returning to Grand Rapids to practice law, his legal career was cut short by World War II. Gerald Ford joined the US Navy in 1943, seeing service in the Pacific aboard the carrier Monterey. He left the service as a lieutenant commander in 1946 and returned to Grand Rapids to pick up where he left off in his law practice, and to begin a career in politics.
In 1948, Ford was elected to the US House of Representatives for the first of his 13 terms. Shortly after his election, he became a member of the influential Appropriations Committee later becoming the ranking Republican on the subcommittee on Defense Department appropriations. Speaking of his service in Congress, Gerald Ford described himself as "a moderate on domestic issues, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist."
As a member of the House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration in 1958, he helped draft the original Space Act that gave NASA its charter, was always a stalwart supporter of the space program.
He was considered dependable and hard working and was popular with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. In 1963, he was elected chairman of the House Republican Conference. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Gerald Ford served as a member of the Warren Commission from 1963 to 1964 and accepted the role of minority leader in 1965.
After Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned, President Richard Nixon nominated Ford to fill the position on Oct. 12, 1973. His appointment was an historic first. It was also a tumultuous time for the US presidency. Ford stated he did not believe Nixon had been involved in the Watergate scandals, but he criticized Nixon's court battles and refusal to release tape recordings of Watergate-related conversations for use as evidence. After less than a year in the office of vice president, he was thrust into the office of president when on Aug. 9, 1974 Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. When Ford was sworn in as the 38th president, it was another historic first, as he was the first to enter the White House without winning a national election.
As president, Gerald Ford celebrated the successful Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, predicting "the day is not far off when space missions made possible by this first joint effort will be more or less commonplace."
President Ford also saluted the landings of the twin Viking robotic explorers on Mars, saying on the occasion of the first landing, "Our achievements in space represent not only the height of technological skill, they also reflect the best in our country—our character, the capacity for creativity and sacrifice, and a willingness to reach into the unknown."
President Gerald R. Ford passed away December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage at age 93.
Gerald Ford served his country with tremendous dignity and energy, and his presence will be greatly missed.