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EDWARD MCGLASSON, III-Family
to remember
Ford, Walter Chilcott, RADM.
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Contact Info
Home Town Buffalo, NY
Last Address Severna Park, MD
Date of Passing Nov 20, 1999
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
Military Service Number 59 556
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
US Navy Rear Admiral. Ford graduated from the United StatesNavalAcademy in 1925. He served in World War II where he commanded the Destroyer USS Perkins from 1941 to 1943 which included the battle of the Solomon Islands on November 30, 1942. He was the Commanding Officer of Destroyer Squadron 23 which saw combat in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Guadalcanal campaign. For his actions in the CoralSeas he was awarded the Bronze Star and for his night operations against the Japanese forces at Guadalcanal and in the Solomon Islands won him the Silver Star. After the war he was assigned as an administrative aide to the under secretary of the Navy then was named the first executive director of the newborn Central Intelligence Agency and served from 1947 to 1949. He next was appointed assistant naval chief of staff for intelligence in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Command. In addition to his Silver Star and Bronze Star he was awarded the Legion of Merit for services to the Government as Secretary, Academic Board at Annapolis for indoctrination of midshipmen. He retired as a Rear Admiral in 1955 and worked as a maritime consultant and corporate director.
Other Comments:
Silver Star
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Division: U.S.S. Perkins (DD-377)
General Orders: Board Serial 960 (May 9, 1946)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Commander Walter Chilcott Ford (NSN: 0-59556), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. PERKINS (DD-377), during an action with Japanese Naval Forces in the Solomon Island area on the night of 30 November 1942. Engaging the enemy with gun and torpedo fire, Commander Force contributed to the destruction of the Japanese force and the frustration of its mission. His bold and skillful handling of his ship in the face of grave danger was of inestimable value in rendering assistance to a damaged cruiser. His courageous conduct and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)
From Month/Year
August / 1942
To Month/Year
February / 1943
Description The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.
On 7 August 1942, Allied forces, predominantly American, landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May 1942, and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield (later named Henderson Field) that was under construction on Guadalcanal. Powerful US naval forces supported the landings.
Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, in which the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and land with enough troops to retake it was defeated. In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943 in the face of an offensive by the US Army's XIV Corps, conceding the island to the Allies.
The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms victory by Allied forces over the Japanese in the Pacific theatre. The Japanese had reached the high-water mark of their conquests in the Pacific, and Guadalcanal marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic offensive in that theatre and the beginning of offensive operations, including the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Central Pacific campaigns, that resulted in Japan's eventual surrender and the end of World War II.
