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Navy Fireman 2nd Class George C. Ford, killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II, was accounted for on April 30, 2018.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Ford was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Ford.
In 2015, DPAA disinterred remains from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.
Ford's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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EARLY LIFE
George Calvin Ford was born on April 27, 1916, in Sheridan Township, Carroll County, Iowa, to John Calvin (1877-1961) and Sophia Margaret Harms Ford (1878-1956). George was the sixth of seven children (3 girls and 4 boys). His father earned a living as a farmer and a blacksmith.
MILITARY
George enlisted in the U.S. Navy on August 13, 1940 in Des Moines, Iowa, at the age of 24. His service number was #3214577. He trained at the Great Lakes Training Station and then was assigned to the Pacific Fleet working as a Fireman 2c. As Fireman 2nd Class his duties included: fire and tend boilers, operate, adjust and repair pumps.
DEATH
F2c George Calvin Ford was KIA while executing his duties on the USS Oklahoma BB 37 battle ship on December 7, 1941.
On the morning of 7 December 1941, a fleet of Japanese carriers launched an air strike against the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The attack decimated the ships and personnel of the fleet and thrust the United States into World War II. At the onset of the 7 December 1941 attack, the battleship USS Oklahoma(BB-37),being moored at berth Fox 5 on “Battleship Row.” Just before 8 am, the Oklahoma was among the first of the ships struck in the attack. A torpedo struck on her port side and she capsized quickly. After the Arizona, she was the largest loss of life, at 429 sailors and marines. The Oklahoma was salvaged in 1942, but it was determined she could not be repaired. In May of 1947, she was sold for scrap and while under tow to California, she sank in a storm. Her exact location remains unknown to this day.
POST DEATH EVENTS
Included in this overview is a copy of George’s obituary where it describes his death and the recovery of his remains. His remains were interred on Oct. 20, 2018 at the West Lawn Cemetery in Glidden, Carroll County, Iowa.
Thank you F2c George Calvin Ford for your service and sacrifice!
OBITUARY
George C. Ford, Navy Fireman 2nd Class, was killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II. He was accounted for on April 30, 2018. George was one of the first casualties of this war from Carroll County, Iowa.
Funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 10:30 A.M. at Peace Lutheran Church, 226 W 6th Street, Glidden, Iowa. Ret. Navy Chaplain Rev. Michael Wolfram will officiate. Visitation will be held at Peace Lutheran Church from 9:30 A.M. until the time of service. Following the service, interment with full military honors will take place at the Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery, Glidden, Iowa, with a reception to follow in the fellowship hall at Peace Lutheran Church.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com
Fireman 2nd Class George Calvin Ford was born on April 27, 1916, in Sheridan Township, Carroll County, Iowa, to John Calvin and Sophia Margaret Harms Ford. George attended the Sheridan Township School and was baptized and confirmed at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lidderdale, Iowa.
Following a mechanical interest he studied diesel engineering which was of assistance to him when he joined the Navy. George enlisted in the U. S. Navy on August 13, 1940 in Des Moines, Iowa. After a period of training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station he was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. George reported for duty aboard the USS Oklahoma on October 12, 1940.
The USS Oklahoma arrived in Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1940, one year and one day prior to the fatal attack. The ship spent the next several months participating in exercises and conducting patrols as part of the effort to check Japanese aggression.
At the onset of the December 7, 1941 attack, the USS Oklahoma quickly capsized. Two weeks after the attack Fireman 2nd Class George Calvin Ford was listed missing in action. On February 14, 1942 his status was subsequently amended to reflect that he died as a result of the attack, making the supreme sacrifice upholding the highest tradition of the Navy, in the defense of his country. His parents later received the Purple Heart, awarded to them as a posthumous decoration in recognition of the service of their son to his country in addition to the American Defense Service Medal and World War II Victory Medal.
George was survived by his parents; his brothers and sisters: Wilbur Ford, Delbert Ford, Gladys Ford Mount, Ira Ford, Ruth Ford Feld and Arlene Ford Hannasch.
On April 30, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Fireman Second Class George Calvin Ford, missing from World War II.
Fireman Second Class George Ford, who entered the U.S. Navy from Iowa, served on the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and was aboard the ship during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. He was killed in the attack, and while his remains were recovered from the ship, they could not be identified following the incident. He was initially buried as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2015, advances in forensic techniques prompted the reexamination and eventual identification of F2 Ford’s remains.
Fireman Second Class George Ford is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
COMMENDATIONS
World War II Victory Medal
Purple Heart
Combat Action Ribbon
American Campaign Medal
Navy Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Good Conduct Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Navy Expeditionary Medal
SOURCES
https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XhDBEA0
Iowa, U.S., WWII Bonus Case Files for Beneficiaries 1940-1959
Honorstates.org
Familysearch.org
Ancestry.com
Findagrave.com
https://basic.newspapers.com/image/4878160/?terms=george%20calvin%20ford&match=1
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.
This story was written by Kathleen Reber, a Stories Behind the Stars contributor.
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