![]() ![]() After a five-hour stop Ford was underway to rendezvous with the Nimitz Battle Group under the command of Rear Admiral Lyle Bien, Commander, Carrier Group 7. Service history įord deployed on 28 November 1985, stopping first in San Diego to pick up Helicopter Anti-Submarine (Light) HSL 45 Detachment ONE, the embarking SH-60F Sea Hawk Detachment. McFarlane and commissioned 29 June 1985, captained by Commander J. It was launched on 23 June 1984 sponsored by Jonda McFarlane, wife of National Security Advisor Robert C. Construction and commissioning įord was laid down by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California on 11 July 1983. A description of Gunner's Mate Ford's actions can be found here. In recognition of his bravery, the US Navy posthumously awarded him the Navy Cross. However, his actions saved the lives of two of his shipmates. He did not make it off the boat and despite search efforts was not found until the next morning on the beach of the river. Ford told the last of the men to swim to the rescue boat while he maintained cover fire. ![]() In the face of enemy gunfire and with his clothing on fire, Ford assisted three seriously wounded shipmates into the water. Even as the boat was hit by four additional rockets and after suffering serious injuries, Ford maintained a steady volume of return fire from his aft machine-gunner's station. Within seconds, the boat was ablaze and out of control, heading directly for the VC positions. Dennis, and Boatswain's Mate First Class Scott C. Two B-40 rockets struck Ford's boat, immediately killing the patrol leader, William E. As the PBR returned to the river with the captured sampan in tow, it was ambushed by a Viet Cong (VC) patrol that unleashed an overwhelming barrage of heavy machine-gunfire and rockets. The two patrol boats gave chase and captured the sampan one hundred meters further up the canal. The boats were maneuvering down the river when they spotted a sampan fleeing into a nearby canal. ![]() On 21 June 1968, GMG2 Ford was serving as the aft machine-gunner aboard PBR 750 as part of a two-boat patrol operating in the upper My Tho River near the town of Cái Bè. He was assigned to Task Force 116, River Squadron 5, River Section 535 in 1968.įor the next five months, he served as a Patrol Boat, River (PBR) sailor, monitoring the traffic of the many rivers and coastal waterways of the area. Following completion of training in 1968, GMG2 Ford was directed to report to Saigon, Republic of Vietnam. He was ordered to the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado for River Patrol Craft Training. Later that year Ford reenlisted for the second time at the Naval Receiving Station, San Francisco, California. Following completion of his tour aboard MacKenzie, Ford was subsequently transferred to USS Henderson where he remained until the end of his second enlistment in 1967. In 1966, he was transferred to the Danang, South Vietnam, where he was ordered to report aboard USS George K. Reenlisting on 11 February 1965 he served at the NS Long Beach, California. Kyes where he served as a Gunner's Mate until the end of his enlistment in 1963. He reported aboard the destroyer USS James E. He completed basic training at the Naval Training Center, San Diego, California, and received orders to report to Naval Station Adak Alaska. He enlisted in the Navy at Phoenix, Arizona on 24 July 1959. Patrick Osborne Ford was born on in San Francisco, California. She was sunk as a target in the Pacific Ocean near Guam in 2019. USS Ford (FFG-54) was a Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate in service with the United States Navy from 1985 to 2013.
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