Welcome back to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum – I hope you’re enjoying your visit and learning a lot from the primary sources that you can find here. In lesson three, let's head back to the exhibits again and see what we can learn by analyzing an artifact from World War Two.

When the United States entered World War II, Gerald Ford volunteered to serve in the Navy to help protect our country. He was initially assigned a desk job, but he desperately wanted to be more involved. He wrote letters pleading to be assigned to a ship in the middle of the action. His persistence eventually paid off and he was assigned to the USS Monterey, an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The crew experienced many intense engagements while onboard, but it was the wrath of Typhoon Cobra that ultimately tested Ford’s courage and bravery. 

Here at the Museum, there are many artifacts from his time in the Navy: a Life Ring from the USS Monterey, Ford’s uniform, ID bracelet, and dog tags, as well as a shadow box containing medals earned by Lieutenant Commander Ford. 

Click to the next slide to take a closer look at one of these artifacts, a sextant used during World War Two.