BOB ~ REMEMBERED BY HIS FRIENDS
INTRODUCTION AND INVITATION
My name is Bill Gray and I always stand amazed at the workings of God. Even though I know He is the Creator of the universe and the eternal God, I still am in awe when I experience an event which could only have been brought about by Him.
One such event is my relationship with Elizabeth “Libby” Ford, widow of Air Force pilot, 1/Lt. Bob Ford, a man for whom I gained great respect during my tour of duty at Osan AFB, Korea, in 1956-57. It is a long story, but let me attempt to bring all the pieces together for you. In broad strokes, I was stationed in Korea in 1956-57 and came to know, not as a close friend, but as an officer I deeply respected, a pilot named Robert Ford. He was later killed in a plane crash while we were stationed at Osan AFB. Because of Lt. Bob Ford’s character, I have long remembered him, while the names of so many other officers and enlisted men have long ago slipped from my memory.
In September 2003, late in the evening, I was checking my e-mails before going to bed. One e-mail I received had a URL link to a web site named Korean War Project. Because I had been in Korea in the 1950s, I was curious enough to click on that URL and go to the web site. I browsed through the site, found a Bulletin Board for my squadron, the 311th Fighter-Bomber Squadron – and just started browsing through the messages. About half way through, one message jumped out at me. It was about the pilot, Bob Ford, whom I had respected so much and whose death had left such an impression upon me. This is the message I found:
1/Lt. Robert A. Ford, Jr KIA — POSTED: 1999-11-09
COMMENTS: 1/Lt. Robert A. Ford, Jr. was killed in Korea on March 11, 1957 after being extended over in Korea longer than he was supposed to serve due to the fact that he had been accepted to attend the University of Illinois to get his Masters Degree. They didn’t know what to do with him before school started, so they held him over there, longer than he should have been there; consequently he was killed because of a faulty plane he was flying.
When the Korean War Memorial project was announced, Libby Ford, widow of 1/Lt. Robert Ford, had submitted his name to the project. They refused to include Bob Ford’s name on the memorial because he was not killed between 1950 and 1953. Bob was killed March 11, 1957 (my mother’s 40th birthday). Even though a cease fire was signed in 1953; no surrender or peace treaty has ever been signed. Technically, we are still at war with North Korea, even today. Out of frustration, Libby Ford went to the Korean War Project web site and posted the message shown above on September 11, 1999 — I found it on September 11, 2003.
The next morning, I called and left a voice-mail message for Libby Ford, telling her that I had been in Bobby’s squadron in Korea when he was killed. She returned my call and we had a long talk. Libby asked if I would write my memories of that time and place for her and for Bobby’s family. From that God ordained beginning, we have built this web site to be a dynamic, ever growing memorial to 1/Lt. Robert A. Ford, Jr., a fallen comrade, a fallen hero. HE GAVE ALL!
Libby Ford and I invite everyone who knew Bob Ford – if you would like to put your memories and thoughts of Bobby in writing and send it to me in an e-mail, I will edit it into web site HTML language and add it to this BOB FORD MEMORIAL WEB SITE.
Send your message to Bill Gray: billdory@pacbell.net