December 28th, 2006
That also holds true for when Princess Diana died, even though it was a look back at the brief time we just lived through. Mickey Mantel died - it was a look back at The Golden Age of baseball. Often times, popular characters or politicians are the symbols of their time. John F. Kennedy was the symbol of the hope and optimism of the early 1960's. Lyndon Johnson was the symbol of America's pluralism - our remaining hope for the future after the death of Jack Kennedy, and our despair as some of our greatest nightmares began to come true as Viet Nam became a quagmire and the Civil Rights struggle and the ear-marks of a second Civil War. Nixon was the symbol of our countries cynicism. But who was Gerald Ford, how did he represent the times we lived in? When Gerald Ford died, his name was still attached to Nixon. In the first paragraph - and even in some instances it was the first sentence - the word "Watergate" was mentioned in all of former President Ford's obituaries. Should Watergate define Mr. Ford's life? Wasn't there more to him? During the Watergate scandal Richard Nixon caused some of the greatest crimes against the Constitution of The United States and violated the sacred trust of the American people in an effort to get an edge against his political rival . In an effort to put the Watergate scandal behind the American people and lay to rest the controversy, President Ford pardoned former President Nixon and in turn ruined his own political future and legacy. Nothing else about this man seemed to matter. The death of Gerald Ford was nothing more then another opportunity to discuss Watergate by the media and even re-examine the controversy through a different perspective, focus on a lesser known or least discussed aspect of this American tragedy. Does Gerald Ford and his Presidency represent the end of Watergate? Did his time in office come to symbolize a time of transition in The United States? That's something for the historians to decide. But what's already clear is that more people are now looking back at the brief years Gerald Ford was in office then I ever thought possible. More of us need to give him a fair shake and look at the life of a man who didn't just define the end of Watergate and the Mid-1970's. |
Like I said in my last rant, I'm in the middle of doing a couple of
things that I'll reveal to the world after January 1st. Wouldn't you know
it... I got this other interruption, the death of a former American
President. I can't let that go with out hammering out a few words, can I?
The
death of an American President or any other public figure makes for great
television. Why? Pure nostalgia, of course. Because when a public figure
dies it's an opportunity to take a look back at who we were during that
person's height of popularity or power. Who we had in any particular office
represents or embodies who we were as a nation or a culture at that very
moment. The death of Frank Sinatra was an opportunity to look back at the
times he lived in, how he effected music and Pop Culture during The Golden
Era.
Gerald Ford. This man existed and had
a full life before Watergate. What's being forgotten and lost in all of this
is that Gerald Ford served his country before in different capacities. He
was a Naval Officer during World War II... here's an excerpt of his
biography...
Applying
for sea duty, Ford was sent in May 1943 to the pre-commissioning detachment
for the new aircraft carrier USS Monterey, at New York Shipbuilding
Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. From the ship's commissioning on June 17,
1943 until the end of December 1944, Ford served as the assistant navigator,
Athletic Officer, and antiaircraft battery officer on board the Monterey.
While he was on board, the carrier participated in many actions in the
Pacific Theater with the Third and Fifth Fleets during the fall of 1943 and
in 1944. In 1943, the carrier helped secure Makin Island in the Gilberts,
and participated in carrier strikes against Kavieng, New Ireland in 1943.
During the spring of 1944, the Monterey supported landings at Kwajalein and
Eniwetok and participated in carrier strikes in the Marianas, Western
Carolinas, and northern New Guinea, as well as in the Battle of the
Philippine Sea.[14][15] After overhaul, from September to November 1944,
aircraft from the Monterey launched strikes against Wake Island,
participated in strikes in the Philippines and Ryukyus, and supported the
landings at Leyte and Mindoro.
Although
the ship was not damaged by Japanese forces, the Monterey was one of several
ships damaged by the typhoon that hit Admiral William Halsey's Third Fleet
on December 18-19, 1944. The Third Fleet lost three destroyers and over 800
men during the typhoon. The Monterey was damaged by a fire, which was
started by several of the ship's aircraft tearing loose from their cables
and colliding during the storm. During the storm, Ford narrowly avoided
becoming a casualty himself. After he left his battle station on the bridge
of the ship in the early morning of December 18, the ship rolled twenty-five
degrees, which caused Ford to lose his footing and slide toward the edge of
the deck. The two-inch steel ridge around the edge of the carrier slowed him
enough so he could roll, and he twisted into the catwalk below the deck. As
he later stated, "I was lucky; I could have easily gone overboard."
