Gerald Ford is Honorably Discharged from the US Navy
In January 1946, he was sent to the Separation Center, Great Lakes to be processed out.
He was released from active duty under honorable conditions on February 23, 1946. On June 28, 1946, the Secretary of the Navy accepted Ford's resignation from the Naval Reserve.
For his naval service, Gerald Ford earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine engagement stars for operations in the Gilbert Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Asiatic and Pacific carrier raids, Hollandia, Marianas, Western Carolines, Western New Guinea, and the Leyte Operation. He also received the Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze stars for Leyte and Mindoro, as well as the American Campaign and World War II Victory Medals.
Ford was a member of several civic organizations, including the American Legion, AMVETS, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Sons of the Revolution, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Gerald R. Ford was initiated into Freemasonry on September 30, 1949. He later said in 1975, "When I took my obligation as a master mason — incidentally, with my three younger brothers — I recalled the value my own father attached to that order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our Country and 12 other members of the order who also served as Presidents of the United States."
February 1946
Ford is honorably discharged from active duty in the United States Navy. During his service he is awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal with one silver star and four bronze stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with two bronze stars, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
By 1945, Ford was "promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned to Glenview, Illinois, to train new naval officers for sea duty," and by February 1946, he was honorably discharged from the Navy. According to the Ford Presidential Web site, he was "awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal with one silver star and four bronze stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with two bronze stars, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal."
