{"id":3299,"date":"2016-10-16T16:45:32","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T20:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/?p=3299"},"modified":"2016-12-19T23:37:15","modified_gmt":"2016-12-20T04:37:15","slug":"ford-on-the-uss-monterey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/2016\/10\/16\/ford-on-the-uss-monterey\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerald Ford on the USS Monterey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Lieutenant Ford in 1942 (navsource.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gerald Ford, like many presidents. served in the US military before his election to\u00a0public office. He had attended the University of Michigan and Yale and majored in\u00a0law. He was a lawyer and partner in his own fledgling law practice. So why did he\u00a0decide to join the military? He, like many Americans after the attack on Pearl\u00a0Harbor. enlisted cut of a sense of duty. He obviously was not the only one who felt\u00a0this way. This was ltle wsy that the military\u00a0had worked up until shortly before\u00a0Pearl Harbor. Large numbers of citizens were drafted or enlisted in the military to\u00a0make up numbers under the\u00a0command of professional officers. The end result\u00a0was a military made up of a diverse mixture of fields and occupations. Lawyers\u00a0like Ford worked alongside farmers and factory workers [4].<\/p>\n

Ford volunteered for the Navy in January 1942, and was accepted in April. \u00a0The Navy didn\u2019t accept him until April on account of his football career. \u00a0He was well known for being a stand-out on the Michigan team.\u00a0 At the beginning of his service, he was assigned as an instructor at the Navy Preflight School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.\u00a0 He taught everything from elementary seamanship to strength and conditioning. \u00a0He was also a coach for all the sports at the school, but primarily football, boxing and swimming. \u00a0The fact that he was known as a football player added to his ability to train and teach new recruits particularly in conditioning.<\/p>\n

After nearly a year at the Preflight School, Ford applied for sea duty. \u00a0He was assigned to the pre-commissioning unit of the USS Monterey, <\/i>a light aircraft carrier, in February 1943. \u00a0Pre-commissioning units (PCUs) are the first sailors aboard ships and help to calibrate equipment, run sea trials, and other tests that are required before the ship goes to sea for the first time.\u00a0 Many in the pre-commissioning units also become “plankowners,” sailors who are aboard for the commissioning of the ship. \u00a0In the case of the Monterey<\/i>, Ford was aboard the ship for commissioning and would stay with it until late 1944. \u00a0Pre-commissioning duties took the Monterey <\/i>and her crew almost 4 months, and it wasn\u2019t until June that Monterey<\/i> was commissioned. \u00a0After a shakedown cruise, \u00a0Monterey <\/i>departed for the Pacific [7].<\/p>\n

The USS Monterey<\/em><\/h2>\n
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The gunnery officers of the USS Monterey. Ford is second from the right, Front row. (From Wikipedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ship that would become the USS Monterey<\/i> was laid down as the light cruiser USS Dayton<\/i>. \u00a0It was re-designated a light carrier in March 1942. \u00a0The USS Monterey<\/i> was named for the Mexican-American War Battle of Monterey. \u00a0It was one of nine\u00a0Independence-<\/em>class aircraft carriers.\u00a0 Early on, American planners realized that the aircraft carrier, not the battleship, would be the deciding factor in the Pacific. \u00a0Having lost multiple aircraft carriers in battles through mid-1942, planners looked for hulls that were already laid down that could be converted to aircraft carriers. \u00a0Nine hulls of Cleveland-<\/i>class light cruisers were selected. \u00a0These were smaller than the fleet carriers of the Yorktown<\/i> and Lexington-<\/i>classes, but they were a quick and easy solution to the problem of having at times just a single front-line carrier in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

The smaller ships carried a complement of up to 45 aircraft. \u00a0In the beginning of the war, these were relatively even between fighters, dive bombers and torpedo bombers. \u00a0Independence<\/i>-class carriers typically had fighter-heavy complements later in the war, due to the change in use of the ships. \u00a0The ships went from being used as smaller front-line carriers to more escort roles. \u00a0They were usually assigned to air cover or for supporting landings. \u00a0It was in this role that the only ship of the class to be lost, USS <\/em>Princeton, <\/i>was scuttled after kamikaze attacks. \u00a0The class was also valuable because of its speed. \u00a0Being based on cruiser hulls, these ships were faster than the other escort and light carriers, and were able to keep up with the fast carriers and battleships.<\/p>\n

Ford served aboard Monterey<\/i> as an assistant navigator, athletic officer, and antiaircraft gunnery officer. \u00a0\u00a0Carriers had a great deal of overlap due to the sheer number of jobs that needed to be done. \u00a0Abroad carriers, a large portion of the crew was responsible solely for the aviation portion of the ship, with the other portion serving as the crew like on a normal ship. \u00a0As such, It was not rare for an officer like Ford to have multiple jobs aboard a ship. \u00a0A light carrier like Monterey<\/i> had slightly over half the number of crew of an Essex<\/i> or Yorktown<\/i>-class carrier, so the overlap was further increased.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Basketball in the aircraft elevator abroad Monterey, Ford is the jumper at left. navsource.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a matter of course, most officers on carriers had some navigation training, and the title of assistant navigator belonged to many officers. \u00a0However, he didn\u2019t think much of his ability to navigate the ship, and was glad there was another navigator. \u00a0At a reunion gathering of Monterey\u2019s <\/i>crew in 1975, he had this to say:<\/p>\n

Let me just say, I was the assistant navigator under Pappy Atwood, and it’s fortunate that the ship relied on Pappy Atwood’s sightings rather than mine. And I hope that my decisions as President are more accurate than my sightings as assistant navigator. [2]<\/p>\n

As an antiaircraft gunnery officer, he commanded a Bofors 40mm cannon battery of 4 guns. \u00a0Like navigating, this was a skillset that nearly all officers had training in.\u00a0 The title of athletic officer was exclusively Ford\u2019s. \u00a0Once again, his football background was part of his naval service. \u00a0He was responsible for overall fitness of the crew, leisure sports and activities, and even the occasional inter-ship game of basketball or football. \u00a0As with his time at the Preflight Academy, sports and fitness were a large part of his service in the Navy. [5]<\/p>\n

Ford and Monterey <\/em>in action<\/h2>\n

Ford and Monterey<\/i>\u2019s first action came in November 1943 at the Gilbert Islands. \u00a0Arriving 19 November, the ship helped secure the Makin Island and subdue Japanese resistance throughout the island chain. \u00a0Throughout December and early 1944, the carrier participated in strikes on New Ireland, New Guinea, and landings in the Marshall Islands. \u00a0After the Marshall Islands campaign, she was attached to Task Force 58, and took part in raids all over the Pacific. \u00a0She also participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, otherwise known as \u2018The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot\u2019 that broke the back of the Japanese Carrier force. \u00a0Monterey <\/i>then joined Task Force 38 and William F. Halsey\u2019s 3rd Fleet. \u00a0It is with the 3rd Fleet that Monterey <\/i>participated in the largest naval battle in history: Leyte Gulf.\u00a0 It would also be with the fleet that the Monterey<\/i> would receive its worst damage. \u00a0Not from the Japanese, but from nature.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Torpedo bombers prepared for a raid on the Gilbert Islands, November 1943. navsource.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the natural threat to Monterey<\/i>, it fought at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. \u00a0It filled the role of most of the light carriers, providing air cover to the landings. \u00a0\u00a0Later in the battle, it helped to bomb the Southern Force Japanese fleet, on the whole, not doing much in the way of damage to any of the ships. \u00a0This force would be all but destroyed in the last great gun-to-gun battleship battle in history at Surigao Strait on 22 October, 1944.\u00a0 The Monterey<\/i> was not finished at Leyte, however. \u00a0As the Center Force, a collection of the largest battleships and cruisers the Japanese had left, steamed toward the landing forces in the gulf, a force of tiny \u2018tin can\u2019 destroyers, destroyer escorts and escort carriers was all that stood in its way. \u00a0After the staggeringly heroic actions of the small ships against opponents 30 times their size, the force of tiny ships managed to fend off their adversaries until aid, including the Monterey<\/i>, arrived.\u00a0 Monterey<\/i> launched everything she could to help fight off the attackers, and was one of the few ships to be involved in both of the battles against the Southern and Center forces [7].<\/p>\n

Typhoon Cobra<\/h2>\n

After fighting at Leyte, the Monterey<\/i> and Ford stayed with the 3rd Fleet. \u00a0In December, Admiral Halsey unwittingly turned the fleet into the path of a typhoon. \u00a0It was the most damaging action of the war for the 3rd Fleet, and far surpassed any damage done by the Japanese. \u00a0In the end, 790 men lost their lives. \u00a0The material loss totaled 3 destroyers sunk, damage to 5 light carriers (Monterey <\/i>severely), a prop shaft bent on USS Iowa<\/i> and 21 other ships, ranging from destroyers to cruisers. \u00a0She would eventually limp back to Bremerton, Washington for major repairs.\u00a0 Surprisingly, Monterey <\/i>was one of only 3 ships that needed to be overhauled at naval shipyards stateside. [1]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
TBM Avenger abroad Monterey, after being tossed about on the hangar deck during Typhoon Cobra. navsource.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to the ships lost and damaged, more than 100 aircraft were also swept off carrier decks. \u00a0The plunging seas also caused aircraft to slide around on the hangar deck. \u00a0Abroad Monterey<\/i>, a TBD Devastator torpedo bomber broke loose and slammed into the bulkhead. \u00a0This aviation gas to spill, and after a spark, it ignited. \u00a0Ford later remembered thinking that it would be ironic if the ship burned and sunk in the middle of a typhoon. \u00a0Ford was officer on deck during this time, the call to general quarters having come long before the storm got terrible. \u00a0He was ordered by Captain Ingersoll to assess the fire raging on the hangar deck. \u00a0He went down, observed the fire was being fought effectively by the damage control crews, and went back to report. \u00a0On his way back up the heaving decks and stairways slick with rain, he slipped and nearly went overboard. \u00a0He managed to stay abroad and report back to the captain that the fire was under control.<\/p>\n

Much has been said about Ford\u2019s contribution to save his ship. \u00a0There are reports of his heroism, and he has, by his own admission, occasionally been given more credit than he deserves. \u00a0At the reunion gathering in 1975, he had only this to say:<\/p>\n

Then, of course, the climax was the typhoon on December 18 and 19 of 1944. I can recall most intimately the coolness, the courage of the skipper. I happened to be on the bridge as the officer of the deck during general quarters, and we were in general quarters a long time.<\/p>\n

The word came from the Admiral, “Abandon ship, if you so order.” I am not sure that’s the way it went but one out of the four boilers was in operation, the fire pumps were manned, the hangar deck fire was extinguished, and the Monterey<\/i>, after about 7 hours dead in the water with one or two cruisers and three or four destroyers, got underway. [2]<\/p>\n

Ford was where he was because of simple chance. \u00a0He undoubtedly performed the task he had been ordered to do admirably, but to suggest he had fought the fires himself is stretching the truth a bit. [6]<\/p>\n

In reality, navy ships had dedicated damage control teams spread throughout the ship to fight fires, pump water, and other things. \u00a0These were ably commanded by other officers and sprang into action the moment they were needed. \u00a0Several present-day articles have embellished the story a bit. \u00a0The officer of the deck is a stand-in for the captain, and in times of crisis (like battles or storms) the officer can be ordered to supervise operations of a certain part of the ship or to report on damage, as Ford did, among other things.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Ford was not the only future president to be caught in the typhoon. \u00a0George H.W. Bush, at the time also a lieutenant, was also caught in the storm aboard USS San Jacinto<\/i>, another Independence-<\/i>class carrier. \u00a0His ship was also damaged, but not to the extent of Monterey<\/i>. \u00a0Few ships in the 3rd Fleet totally escaped damage that day.<\/p>\n

After the fire and other typhoon damage, Monterey <\/i>was declared unfit for service and was ordered to Bremerton, Washington for repairs. \u00a0It was here that Ford left the ship for stateside duty. \u00a0He spent from April 1945 in active duty, serving on staff at several different schools around the country before being discharged in February 1946. \u00a0He then served in the Naval Reserve until 1963, when, as a representative from Michigan, he resigned.<\/p>\n

Ford gave his military service as one of many reasons to enter politics in his later life. \u00a0He ran in the 1948 election just 2 years after his honorable discharge from the Navy. \u00a0He had come from an isolationist Midwest, and faced the fact that the world would not leave the United States alone. \u00a0His military service opened his eyes, in a number of ways, to the wider world. \u00a0He brought these revelations back with him to Grand Rapids, Michigan. \u00a0He won a seat in the House of Representatives, and successfully defended it 12 times, until he was chosen as Vice President. \u00a0He then took the office as the 38th President of the United States in 1974, when President Nixon resigned.\u00a0 From the creation of the United States, many Presidents have served in the military. \u00a0From the generals of Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower to the lieutenants of Ford and Bush Sr., the military has had as much of an effect on politics, as politics have had on it.<\/p>\n\n

Primary sources:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Action Report (1944). USS Monterey (CVL 26)<\/a> US Naval History & Heritage Command<\/li>\n
  2. Gerald Ford (1975).\u00a0 Remarks at a Reunion With Crewmembers of the U.S.S. Monterey.<\/a><\/span> The American Presidency Project<\/li>\n
  3. Gerald Ford (1976). Exchange With Reporters on Arrival at Rockford<\/span><\/b>, Illinois.<\/span><\/a> The American Presidency Project<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Secondary Sources:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Naval Historical Center (2006). The Navy Career of Gerald Ford<\/em>. <\/a>Military.com<\/li>\n
    2. Drury, Robert and Clavin, Tom (2006).\u00a0 How Lieutenant Ford Saved his Ship<\/em>.<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Cannon, James (1994).\u00a0 Time and Chance: Gerald Ford\u2019s Appointment with History.\u00a0 <\/em>Ann Arbor.<\/li>\n
    4. Navy History (2013). Lieutenant Gerald Ford and Typhoon Cobra.<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Gerald Ford, like many presidents. served in the US military before his election to\u00a0public office. He had attended the University of Michigan and Yale and majored in\u00a0law. He was a lawyer and partner in his own fledgling law practice. So…<\/p>\n

      Continue readingGerald Ford on the USS Monterey<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[36,335,254,112],"class_list":["post-3299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-naval","category-person","tag-1940s","tag-aircraft-carrier","tag-president","tag-wwii","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5910,"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299\/revisions\/5910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}