Washington honours modest Ford

WITH the thunder of cannon and the whistle of a bosun pipe, Washington has honoured former President Gerald Ford’s memory.

The funeral ceremonies for Mr Ford, 93, who died last Tuesday, recalled the touchstones of his life, from combat in the Pacific to a career he cherished in Congress and a presidency he did not seek.

Former colleagues, current leaders and ordinary Americans remembered him as a man called to heal the country from the wounds of Watergate, the scandal that shattered Richard Nixon’s presidency in 1974 and brought the even-keeled Ford to the White House.

On the way to Capitol Hill, Second World War veterans and Boy Scouts gathered by the memorial and saluted at the brief, poignant stop. Mr Ford’s wife Betty waved through the window.

The event recalled the former president’s combat service aboard the aircraft carrier USS Monterey.

In December 1944, when a typhoon struck the Third Fleet, Mr Ford led the crew that battled a fire sparked by planes shaken loose in the storm, taking actions that some credited with saving the ship and many lives.

The funeral procession to the Capitol lacked the full trappings, by the design of Mr Ford and his family.

A man of modest character, Mr Ford was also mourned without the riderless horse customarily included in the procession.

Mr Ford will be buried on Wednesday on a hillside near his presidential museum in Michigan.