GER ALD R. FORD (CVN 78) Christening Ceremony
“Wherever an American carrier shows her flag, she will be seen as a solid symbol of United States strength and United States resolve - made in America and manned by Americans. She is a movable part and parcel of our country, a selfcontained city at sea plying the international waters of the world in defense of our national interest. Whether her mission is one of defense, diplomacy, or humanity, an American carrier will command awe and admiration from some; caution and circumspection from others; and respect from all. It took naval power to win our freedom. It still takes naval power to preserve freedom. The credibility of the United States, in the eyes of both our friends and adversaries, depends upon the courage, the skill, and the discipline of the men and women of the United States Navy.” -President Gerald R. Ford
President Ford in the Oval Office with his golden retriever, Liberty.
Continuing President Ford’s Legacy
Welcome to Newport News Shipbuilding and the christening of our nation’s newest and most technologically-advanced aircraft carrier, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Today’s ceremony marks a historic milestone in the life of this great ship. For our shipbuilders, this ship represents years of hard work that began as a design concept now engineered into the complex machine we celebrate today. For the U.S. Navy, it symbolizes the future of naval propulsion and naval aviation, and a continuation of our nation’s dominance of the seas. And for the Ford family, this ship serves as a living tribute to the 38th President of the United States. The shipbuilders of Newport News are proud to build CVN 78 – named for a man who embodied integrity, honor and courage. We take great pride in this responsibility, and we feel a tremendous sense of ownership in the role we play to build upon President Ford’s legacy. We also feel extremely fortunate to have Susan Ford Bales as our ship’s sponsor. Since we laid the keel in 2009, she has helped to bring this mighty vessel to life. Her unwavering spirit will be with this ship and her crew always, and Susan’s strength will help them endure. We are proud to call her a friend, partner and fellow shipbuilder. Please enjoy the ceremony, and the unique opportunity to see one of the most complex machines in the world. I think you will agree that Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) embodies the very best of American manufacturing and innovation. Sincerely,
Matt Mulherin President Newport News Shipbuilding
Building a Giant
One of the first pieces of steel, a 15-ton plate for a side shell unit of Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), is cut Aug. 11, 2005.
Ship’s Sponsor Susan Ford Bales has visited the shipyard many times since Gerald R. Ford’s keel was laid in 2009. During her visits, she has met with shipbuilders and participated in the construction of her father’s ship. She is pictured here with Rigger Mike Jordan, helping to secure a lift.
Newport News Shipbuilding Welder Joseph Parker works on a strut for one of the aircraft carrier’s four propeller shafts.
Shipbuilders at Newport News Shipbuilding’s Foundry pour steel to cast a rudder for Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).
Machinists fit a sleeve onto a propeller shaft section for Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in the Machine Shop.
Newport News Shipbuilding Structural Welder Robert Bowker welds Susan Ford Bales’ initials, SFB, onto a metal plate during the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Keel Laying Ceremony, Nov. 14, 2009.
Using a modular construction process where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form large structural units called superlifts, a 945-ton unit is erected on May 23, 2011. The unit, one of 162 superlifts required to build CVN 78, was assembled by the Steel Fabrication and Assembly division from 18 smaller structural units.
CVN 78 is the first carrier to be completely designed using full scale 3-D modeling capabilities. Every feature of the ship was created and planned in a 3-D model, including the carrier’s pump room shown above.
Newport News Shipbuilding Pipefitter Sheryl Richardson sets up a pipe-bender machine in the Detail Pipe Shop. She is one of 5,000 employees supporting Gerald R. Ford construction.
The carrier’s lower bow is lifted into place with the shipyard’s 1,050-metric-ton crane on May 24, 2012. The 680-metric-ton unit is one of the heaviest superlifts to be placed on the ship.
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Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) pre-commissioning unit sailors cut ribbon on June 6, 2013 to open the building where they will work while the ship is constructed.
Susan Ford Bales oversees construction from the top of the 1,050-ton gantry crane with CVN 78 Construction Director Geoff Hummel.
On April 9, 2013, the aircraft carrier’s upper bow unit is lifted into place, bringing the ship to its full 1,106 feet. The 787-metric-ton unit contains 19 steel sections and structurally completes the carrier’s flight deck.
Welder Shaun Worones seals a time capsule welded inside CVN 78’s flight deck control room. The time capsule contains items from Susan Ford Bales and shipyard and Navy leadership that were part of the island-landing ceremony.
CVN 78’s Prospective Commanding Officer Capt. John Meier; Rear Adm. Ted Branch, then-commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic; Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt Mulherin; and Ship’s Sponsor Susan Ford Bales together at the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Island Landing Ceremony Jan. 26, 2013.
CVN 78 Shipfitter Jason Ausmus checks as an 825-ton unit is lowered into place to complete the ship’s stern.
Thousands of skilled industrial workers support aircraft carrier construction. Newport News Shipbuilding’s industrial base numbers more than 2,000 small, mid-sized and large businesses in 46 states across the country that contribute specialized parts, skilled services and support.
THE CVN 78 CREW
Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) crew members participate in events held at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., on July 14, 2013 to honor President Ford’s 100th birthday.
The ship’s crest incorporates many symbols reminiscent of President Ford’s life and legacy, including a fleur-de-lis on the compass pointing true north, which comes from his rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts; and 38 stars surrounding the emblem to represent his tenure as 38th president of the United States – 26 stars are a different color to denote his time stationed aboard USS Monterey (CVL 26) during World War II. The crest’s colors include blue and maize for his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Michigan, and blue and white from his time at Yale, where he attended law school.
Susan Ford Bales looks on as CVN 78 shipbuilder Wilson Woods Jr. signs the Gerald R. Ford Centennial Celebration guest book on July 14, 2013 in Grand Rapids, Mich.
CVN 78 shipbuilders install the third and final aircraft elevator on the aircraft carrier’s starboard side on Aug. 9, 2013. The elevator is used to move aircraft from the hangar bay to the flight deck, quickly and safely.
The Christening Party Sponsor Susan Ford Bales is a Virginia native and now resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is the daughter of President Gerald R. Ford and Betty Ford and is married to Vaden Bales, an attorney with the Riggs Abney firm in Tulsa. Susan is the mother of two daughters, Tyne Berlanga and Heather Devers, two grandchildren, Joy Elizabeth Berlanga and Cruz Vance Berlanga, and three step-sons, Kevin, Matthew, and Andrew Bales. Susan was raised in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended Holton Arms School and Mount Vernon College, where she studied photojournalism. She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service degree and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree. She is the author of two novels set in the White House, “Double Exposure: A First Daughter Mystery” and its sequel, “Sharp Focus.” Susan is the Ship’s Sponsor for the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). She has served as a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation since 1981 and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Foundation’s Programs Committee. Susan’s work with the Foundation is centered on promoting the ideals of public service, integrity, and candor that were the hallmarks of the life of our Nation’s 38th President, especially his service as a Naval Officer in World War II, as a member of Congress, and as Vice President and President. In addition to her many charitable and public service activities, Susan serves on the Advisory Board of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health; Trustee of the President Gerald R. Ford Historical Legacy Trust; Global Ambassador for Susan G. Komen For The Cure; the Executive Board of the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Foundation; Trustee of the Elizabeth B. Ford Charitable Trust; and the board of directors of the Bosque School in New Mexico.
Matrons of Honor Tyne Vance Berlanga is a native of Northern Virginia where she attended Episcopal High School. She is the granddaughter of President Gerald R. Ford and the daughter of Susan Ford Bales. Tyne graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.F.A. in Theatre Studies and currently resides in Frisco, Texas with her husband Hector Berlanga and their two children, Joy Elizabeth and Cruz. She is an active member of the Frisco community, working with the PTA and Frisco Women’s League, as well as raising her two young children. Tyne has served on several committees of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation as part of her commitment to preserving and promoting her grandfather’s remarkable legacy. Heather Vance Devers, daughter of Susan Ford Bales and granddaughter of President Gerald R. Ford, attended high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Following graduation, Heather joined her sister at Southern Methodist University where she earned her degree in journalism. Heather’s subsequent career has taken her from Dallas to New York and back to Dallas where she’s worked for Condé Nast, Nieman Marcus, and currently as the Style Director for Children’s Fashion at JC Penney. Heather lives in Frisco, Texas with her husband Jeffrey Devers and their two dogs and two cats. She has greatly enjoyed being a part of the construction of the Gerald R. Ford and looks forward to working closely with the ship’s crew and their families and providing support to them in ways that would have made her grandfather very proud.
Photo courtesy of Albuquerque Journal.
A Tribute to President Gerald R. Ford By Susan Ford Bales Today we honor a man who lived the American Dream. The country knew
When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Dad immediately joined the Navy.
him as the 38th President of the United States Gerald R. Ford; to me he
He petitioned for combat duty and served with distinction in the South
was just Dad.
Pacific as a Lieutenant Commander aboard the carrier USS Monterey. His integrity sustained him throughout his service in the US House of
Historians initially chronicled Dad and his presidency for healing the
Representatives, as Vice President and President. His fairness and
bitter wounds left by the Vietnam War and Watergate. But they came to
principled decision-making won the
realize he did more than heal the Nation – much more. His presidency was
abiding respect of colleagues on
conducted with resolute integrity and total disregard of possible adverse
both sides of the aisle. So, in 1974,
political consequences or prevailing partisan winds. As Pulitzer Prize
when America faced its greatest
journalist David Broder explained, “In an odd, inexplicable way, the truth
constitutional crisis since the Civil
has begun to dawn on the American people that Gerald Ford was the kind
War, the country needed a man of
of President Americans always wanted – and didn’t know they had.”
resolve, a man of integrity, and a man of humility; the American people
Raised in America’s heartland,
called upon Gerald Ford.
Dad excelled in the classroom
Portrait of Leslie Lynch King Jr., born July 14, 1913, at about 10 months old. In 1916, the future president was renamed Gerald R. Ford Jr. by his family after his mother remarried.
and on the football field at the
Dad knew what he stood for, and he
University of Michigan. At Yale
trusted the Midwestern values given
Law School, he was instilled
to him by Dorothy and Gerald Ford,
with intellectual rigor and a
Sr. He worked to always do the right
steadfast respect for the rule
thing and never needed a focus group
of law. An Eagle Scout (literally
to guide his decisions in the Oval
and metaphorically), his life
Office. From the moment he took the
was guided by the virtues he
Presidential Oath, he set about to heal
learned as a boy in Grand
the deep divides of our country. From the ravaged economy, to the toxins
Rapids, Michigan - respect for
of Watergate, to the threats of nuclear war, he led as a man of principle;
others and honesty above all.
Dad simply didn’t know any other way. He wanted only one thing – what
Gerald Ford’s Madison Elementary School portrait, 1923.
Gerald Ford with the Eagle Scout Guard of Honor at Mackinac Island State Park, Mich. The troop guided visitors around Mackinac Island and raised and lowered the ag each day.
Gerald Ford and fellow football coaches James DeAngelis and Ivan Williamson get ready for practice at Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Gerald Ford and his half-brother, Richard A. Ford, pose in the front yard of 649 Union Avenue, S.E., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Gerald Ford on the University of Michigan football ďŹ eld, 1933.
was best for the American people. He knew that granting amnesty to draft evaders and military deserters and pardoning President Nixon would be controversial and unpopular. But he also knew they were steps that had to be taken. House Speaker Tip O’Neill – a dedicated Democrat – later summarized America’s good fortune: “God has been good to America, especially during difficult times. At the time of the Civil War, He gave us Abraham Lincoln. And at the time of Watergate, He gave us Gerald Ford – the right man at the right time who was able to put our Nation back together.” Renowned presidential historian Jon Meacham recently concluded, “No other American President in our long history, including George Washington, has more closely resembled the ideal of Cincinnatus - the leader summoned from his plow to restore the nation in a time of crisis - than Gerald Ford. Like Cincinnatus, President Ford did not seek, but did accept, ultimate responsibility in an hour of maximum danger. And, like Cincinnatus, he left his nation a better place than he had found it. Henry Adams once observed, ‘A President, like the commander of a ship at sea, must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, and a port to seek.’ Our 38th President had each of those. And, in the three decades after he left the White House, he completed a remarkable journey from accidental President to undisputed statesman.”
Navigation officer, Lt. Gerald Ford, takes a sextant reading aboard the light aircraft carrier, USS Monterey (CVL 26), 1944.
The light aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL 26) c. 1943-45, location unknown. Originally built to be the Cleveland-class light cruiser Dayton (CL 78), the ship was converted to be one of nine Independence-class light carriers. President Ford served aboard the Monterey during World War II.
Activities aboard USS Monterey (CVL 26). Navy pilots in the forward elevator playing basketball. Jumper on the left is future U.S. President Gerald Ford.
Gerald Ford reads at home in the family apartment at 1521 Mount Eagle Place, Alexandria, Va.
Dad once reflected on that remarkable journey: “Without seeking them, I was called upon to fill this Nation’s highest offices. For two and a half years, I had the greatest privilege that can come to any American – to lead my countrymen through trying times, and to uphold the sacred honor of free men and women everywhere. So I ask you to join me in saluting the past, savoring the present, and anticipating the future. For in America,
Gerald and Betty Ford and their children, Mike, Jack, Susan and Steve, sit in the dining room of the Ford residence.
the best has never
to excellence of my fellow Newport News
been – it is always yet
shipbuilders. As a loving daughter, my heart
to be.”
is bursting with joy at the christening of the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier that
Congressman Ford at work in his office, c. 1950.
In the twilight of
soon will be the mightiest warship in history,
his life, Dad wrote
protecting our freedoms and securing our
a very personal
homeland. This magnificent ship, and the
letter in which he
men and women who will serve aboard her,
poignantly described
honor the selfless spirit, the unflinching
his enormous pride in
moral compass of integrity, the firm and
the new generation of American sailors and soldiers – men
honest leadership, and the decades of
and women who embody his namesake carrier’s motto:
dedicated service to God and country given
“Integrity At The Helm.” He would have been similarly proud
by President Gerald R. Ford, the man I will
to have his name associated with the patriotic commitment
always - always - be so proud to call … Dad.
Gerald Ford watches as Susan lies on the floor and reads from “Ten Apples Up On Top” in the living room of the Ford residence.
President and Mrs. Richard M. Nixon with Representative and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford in the Blue Room following the nomination of Gerald Ford as the president’s choice to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as vice president.
President Nixon meets in the Oval Office with Vice President Gerald Ford, Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, and Chief of Staff Alexander Haig.
Vice President Ford jokes with Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott (Pa.), Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (Mont.), and Senator Robert Griffin (Mich.), 1974.
Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th president of the United States by Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in the East Room of the White House, August 9, 1974.
President Ford confers with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft in the Oval OfďŹ ce.
President Ford and Queen Elizabeth dance during the state dinner in honor of the Queen and Prince Philip at the White House.
President Ford chats with Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld’s assistant, Richard Cheney, in the Oval Office.
President Ford campaigning at the Nassau County Veterans Coliseum in Hempstead, N.Y., before returning to Michigan for the final days of the election campaign.
President Ford photos courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
President and Mrs. Ford share a hug in the Oval Office.
All other photography, program design and production by the Newport News Shipbuilding Communications Division.