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.