Gerald Ford may have had one of the best laugh lines in a State of the Union with “I’m a Ford and not a Lincoln.”
He also spent a good deal of time in Orange County, first taking law classes at UNC and then in pre-flight training for the Navy. He must have spent a lot of time out at Horace Williams.
Fom his official Navy bio:
Instead of waiting for the draft, Ford wanted to join the Navy. His background as a coach and trainer made him a good candidate for instructor in the Navy’s V-5 (aviation cadet) program. Ford received a commision as ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve on 13 April 1942. On 20 April, he reported for active duty to the V-5 instructor school at Annapolis, Maryland. After one month of training, he went to Navy Preflight School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he was one of 83 instructors and taught elementary seamanship, ordnance, gunnery, first aid, and military drill. In addition, he coached in all nine sports that were offered, but mostly in swimming, boxing and football. During the one year he was at the Preflight School, he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade on 2 June 1942, and to Lieutenant on March 1943.
Ford at a Navy ceremony at UNC.