--------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000000 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ C TITLE...................... GERALD R. FORD: PAPERS RELATING TO HIS U.S. NAVY SERVICE ...DESCRIPTION... Ford initially applied for a commission in the active Naval Reserve less than a week after the Japanese bombing of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941. His first choice was to serve in the intelligence branch, so the Navy began a background check to see if he qualified. This process took several months and Ford had no promises that a position would be offered, so about two months later he applied for a commission in the physical education branch. In April 1942, he accepted an appointment as an ensign and commenced a month's training with the V-5 Instructor's course at the U.S. Naval Academy. Upon completion of his training, the Navy assigned him to the Naval Aviation Pre-Flight Training School at the University of North Carolina. He taught seamanship, ordnance and gunnery, and first aid, while also coaching all sports participated in by the cadets. After seven months at the training school, Ford became anxious to get more directly involved in the war effort. He requested that he be reassigned to sea duty and the Navy soon complied. Ford served on the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey from May 1943 to December 1944 as director of physical training, gunnery officer, and assistant navigator. The Monterey participated in nearly every major action in the South Pacific and in support of landings on the Gilbert Islands, Truk, Saipan, and the Philippines. Following his service on the Monterey, Ford spent the balance of the war at the Naval Reserve Training Command in Glenview, Illinois, and was honorably discharged in January 1946 at the grade of lieutenant commander. He remained with the inactive Naval Reserve until 1963. Scope and Content of Ford's Navy Papers President Ford donated to the Library his file of correspondence, personnel forms, orders, and some related publications from his service in the active and inactive Naval Reserve. In addition, he authorized the Library to obtain photocopies of his official personnel file from the Bureau of Naval Personnel to add to this collection. During the Ford Presidency and in subsequent years, various former shipmates sent him materials on the history of the Monterey, including unofficial daily logs, a scrapbook, and a detailed mimeographed history of the carrier and its role in the war. The Library staff added either the originals or photocopies of these items to this collection and also copied from the Ford Presidential Papers selected documents concerning the 1975 reunion of the Monterey crew. While this collection is not a complete record of every aspect of Mr. Ford's Navy service, it is useful for determining specific dates and facts about his various wartime roles and for studying the history of the Monterey. Of particular interest are the occasional letters which Ford exchanged with Navy officials during the war concerning his activities or possible reassignments. ...ABSTRACT... Material concerning President Ford's service in the Navy during World War II and in the inactive reserve, 1946-63, plus the history of the USS Monterey, the aircraft carrier on which he served in 1943 and 1944. Included are copies of his official Navy personnel file, Mr. Ford's own file of orders and correspondence, and materials on the Monterey sent to Mr. Ford by former shipmates. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II, Naval Ships LC SUBJECT TERM............ UNN, AIRCU, FORD, WORWPO, United States. Navy, Aircraft carriers--United States, Ford, Gerald R., 1913-, World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Ocean BEGINNING DATE............. 1941 ENDING DATE................ 1975 VOLUME..................... 0.8 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet ...RELATED MATERIAL... The Ford Library also has a single folder of Office of Naval Intelligence records from National Archives Record Group 289 concerning the investigation conducted about Ford when he was a candidate for a commission in the intelligence branch of the Naval Reserve. The Library has microfiche of Ford's official Navy personnel file, but that collection is not yet open for research. A partial check of documents on the microfiche shows that this is probably a duplicate of the photocopied Bureau of Naval Personnel material here in the Ford Papers. White House Central Files Subject File category PP 13-7 (President - Personal: Military Service) contains about 200 pages of correspondence and attachments concerning wartime activities, including letters from former Monterey shipmates and others who served with him. The Ford scrapbooks contain a small amount of material, mostly clippings about Ford's Navy service. Scattered folders from the Ford Presidential Papers relate to the 1975 Monterey reunion in which he participated. The Library's audiovisual collection contains a videotaped interview with President Ford for the television production "World War II: A Personal Journey," plus several hundred photographs. Some photographs show Ford in uniform on official occasions, while others reveal him in more informal settings such as playing basketball on board the Monterey. Also included are aerial photographs of various battles in the Pacific and pictures taken at post-war reunions of the Monterey crew. ...ARRANGEMENT... Arranged in a single alphabetical subject file. PREFERRED CITATION......... Gerald R. Ford: Papers Relating to his U.S. Navy Service, Gerald R. Ford Library CLASSIFICATION CODE........ U, Not Classified LANG. CODE(S).............. eng LOCATION................... 1A-01-20-4 DATE OF OPENING............ 03/1992 CREATORS NAME.............. Ford Gerald R. CONFORMING NAME............ Ford, Gerald R. CONFORMING NAME INDICATOR.. P CREATORS RELN TO PRES...... Self CREATORS CURRENT POSN...... Retired ...BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE... See the Ford Library's bibliography of books on President Ford. DONORS NAME................ Ford Gerald R. DONORS RELN TO CREATOR..... SELF SOURCE OF LEGAL TITLE...... DM, Donated materials ...PROVENANCE... President Ford originally donated these materials to the Library in several batches which were accessioned as part of the Ford Personal Papers. In February 1992, the materials were pulled together and made into a separate collection. Originally accessioned as 79-NLF-014, 80-NLF-010, 80-NLF-015, 81-NLF-063, 90-NLF-001, 90-NLF-028, 92-NLF-002. The Ford Library staff also copied some materials relating the U.S.S. Monterey from White House Central Files (77-NLF-107). ...RESTRICTIONS... Open. ...LITERARY RIGHT... Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. In addition, Mr. Ford has donated to the United States of America his copyright interest in any other of his writings that might be included in this collection. The copyright interest to materials written by other individuals or organizations is presumed to remain with them. WRITTEN PERMISSION......... N BOX........................ ******* NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000001 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ S TITLE...................... Subject File, {This is a Series Title} ...DESCRIPTION... Correspondence, personnel forms, orders, newsletters, logs, clippings, and publications. The material concerns Gerald Ford's career in the Naval Reserve during and after World War II and the history of the USS Monterey, the aircraft carrier on which he served for part of the war. Included are materials kept by Ford, copies of his official Navy personnel file, and materials on the Monterey sent to Ford by other former crew members. Arranged alphabetically by subject. SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, Naval Ships BEGINNING DATE............. 1941 ENDING DATE................ 1967 VOLUME..................... 0.8 UNITS MEASUR............... linear feet BASIS OF ARRANGEMENT....... AC, Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder. TYPE OF MATERIAL........... COR, PEF, LOG, ORD, Correspondence, Personnel Form, Log, Order BOX........................ 1-2 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000002 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Application for a Navy Commission, 1941-42 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 12/1941 ENDING DATE................ 05/1942 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 60 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000003 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Bureau of Naval Personnel File: Officer Fitness Report Jacket, 1942-51 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 04/1942 ENDING DATE................ 03/1951 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 25 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000004 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Bureau of Naval Personnel File: Officer's Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1942-65 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 04/1942 ENDING DATE................ 02/1965 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 50 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000005 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Bureau of Naval Personnel File: Officer's Order Jacket, 1942-46 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 04/1942 ENDING DATE................ 02/1946 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 45 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000006 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Bureau of Naval Personnel File: Officer's Selection Board Jacket, 1942-67 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 02/1942 ENDING DATE................ 01/1967 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 35 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000007 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Inactive Naval Reserve: Annual Qualifications Questionnaires, 1947-62 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 07/1947 ENDING DATE................ 05/1963 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 50 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000008 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Inactive Naval Reserve: Correspondence, 1948-63 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 11/1948 ENDING DATE................ 09/1963 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 40 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000009 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Navy Orders and Correspondence, 1942-46 (1)-(2) SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 05/1942 ENDING DATE................ 08/1946 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 125 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000010 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Ford, Gerald R. - Officer's Qualification Jacket, 1945-46 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 02/1945 ENDING DATE................ 01/1946 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 15 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000011 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Publication - "Daybreak for Our Carrier" (Gerald Ford Signed the Front Papers and a Clipping on the Monterey is Glued to the End Papers), 1944 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy, Naval Ships BEGINNING DATE............. 1944 ENDING DATE................ 1944 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 95 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000012 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Publication "Flying Magazine" (Special Issue on U.S. Naval Aviation at War), October 1944 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 10/1944 ENDING DATE................ 10/1944 BOX........................ 1 PAGE COUNT................. 330 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000013 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Publication - "Graphic Atlas of the World" (Signed by Gerald Ford on 9/20/43 and Annotated to Show the Travels of the U.S.S. Monterey) SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Presidential Personal BEGINNING DATE............. 1942 ENDING DATE................ 1945 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 100 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000014 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... Publication "U.S. Navy War Photographs", 1946 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 1946? ENDING DATE................ 1946? BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 110 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000015 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, NC - Staff (Includes Photograph of Gerald Ford) SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy, Presidential Personal BEGINNING DATE............. 1942 ENDING DATE................ 1943 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 5 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000016 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - History (1)-(4) SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy, Naval Ships BEGINNING DATE............. 06/1943 ENDING DATE................ 09/1950 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 300 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000017 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - Newsletters Published by the Crew, 1943-45 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy, Presidential Personal BEGINNING DATE............. 1943 ENDING DATE................ 10/1945 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 55 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000018 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - Reunion, 1975 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... Presidential Personal, Department of the Navy, World War II BEGINNING DATE............. 05/1975 ENDING DATE................ 05/1975 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 35 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000019 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - Rosters of Officers, 1943-44 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 11/1943 ENDING DATE................ 12/1944 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 19 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000020 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - Scrapbook on the Operations of Task Force 58 (Contains Plans of the Day, Radio Press News, and Clippings), 1943-44 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy, Naval Ships BEGINNING DATE............. 11/1943 ENDING DATE................ 12/1944 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 75 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000021 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - Typescript Log of Sea Duty by Dwight Smith, 1943-45 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 07/1943 ENDING DATE................ 02/1945 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 11 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS --------------- COL,SER,FLDR ID............ 026000022 ACCESSION.................. 70-NLF-013 RECORD CODE................ F TITLE...................... U.S.S. Monterey - Unofficial Log Maintained by Thomas Tolar, 1943-44 SUBJECT DESCRIPTOR......... World War II, Department of the Navy BEGINNING DATE............. 06/1943 ENDING DATE................ 10/1944 BOX........................ 2 PAGE COUNT................. 12 NAVY SERVICE PAPERS ---------------