Adapted from: "Rear Admiral John Ford, U.S. Naval Reserve, Retired," produced by the Navy Office of Information, dated 2 October 1952, Biographies, 20th Century, Navy Department Library.

The Navy Department Library
- Modern Bios A
- Abbot, Edward W.
- Abbot, James Lloyd
- Abbott, Clark Tait
- Abbott, William George
- Abbott, Robert Lewis
- Abele, Mannert Lincoln
- Abercrombie, Laurence Allen
- Abercrombie, William Warner
- Abernethy, Elmer Paul
- Abhau, William Conrad
- Abplanalp, Kenneth Clair
- Abrahams, Noble Wayne
- Acker, Frank Clements
- Ackerman, Edward
- Ackiss, Ernest Lee
- Acuff, Jasper Terry
- Adair, Charles
- Adair, Crutchfield
- Adair, Jamie
- Adam, James D.
- Adams, Allen Bond Jr.
- Adams, Benjamin Harrison
- Adams, Carlton Rolla
- Adams, Charles Francis, III
- Adams, Dudley Hale
- Adams, Frank Eugene
- Adams, John Clausel
- Adams, Lenus Franklin
- Adams, Lynn W.
- Adams, Richard Donald
- Adams, Robert Lee
- Adams, Scarritt
- Adams, Spencer Moore
- Adams, Thomas McConnell
- Adams, Woodbury Sanderson
- Adamson, Frank Marshall
- Adamson,Robert Edward Jr
- Adee, Graham Montrose
- Adell, Bruce Byron
- Adell, Cecil Clinton
- Adkins, James Alvin
- Adkins, Joe Dean
- Adrian, Robert Nelson
- Ageton, Arthur Ainsley
- Agnew, Dwight Merle
- Agnew, Henry Follin
- Agnew, Jack
- Agnew, William John Clarke
- Ahern, James Richard
- Ahl, Benjamin Nathaniel
- Ahroon, Thomas Andrew
- Aiau, Harvey Chadwick Kamohoalii
- Ailes, John William, III
- Ainsworth, Herbert Sylvan
- Ainsworth, Walden Lee
- Akers, Frank
- Albers, John Juergen
- Albert, Francis Lee
- Albin, George Waugh
- Albright, Paul Morris
- Albrittain, John Warren
- Alderman, John Clement
- Alderton, Dickson Wellington
- Aldrich, Charles Warren
- Aldrich, Clarence Edward
- Aldrich, Clarence Edward, Jr.
- Aldridge, Eugene Talbert
- Alexander, Joe McKnitt
- Alexander, John Richmond
- Alexander, Marion Snow
- Alexander, Ralph Clonts
- Alexander, Raymond Wellington
- Alexander, Richard Griffiss
- Alexander, Stanley Morton
- Alexander, William Henry
- Alexis, Algert Daniel
- Alford, John Morris
- Alford, Leon Otto
- Alford, Lodwick Houston
- Alford, Zeb Dickey
- Allan, Halle Charles
- Allan, Theodore DeWitt
- Alldredge, Walter Whitmore
- Allegrone, Charles
- Allen, Archer Meredith Ruland
- Allen, Burrell Clinton Jr.
- Allen, Charles Vern
- Allen, Edward Henry
- Allen, Ezra Griffen
- Allen, James Ross
- Allen, Jerome Lee
- Allen, Max Harold
- Allen, Nelson John
- Allen, Robert Addison
- Allen, Roger Hurst
- Allen, Walter Hinds
- Allen, William Young, Jr
- Allendorfer, Harry Carl, Jr.
- Allis, Frederick Ashton
- Allison, Samuel Francis
- Allshouse, Thomas James
- Almgren, Neal
- Alston, Augustus Howard, Jr.
- Altmann, Richard Gustaf
- Alvarez, Everrett, Jr.
- Alvis, Harry James
- Alvis, John Hubbard
- Amberson, Julius Martin
- Ambruster, Stephen Henry
- Amen, William Thomas
- Amme, Carl Henry Jr.
- Ames, Lionel Eugene Jr.
- Ammon, William Bronley
- Amsden, William Faulkner
- Ancrum, William
- Anderson, Anton Bennett
- Anderson, Bern
- Anderson, Carl Eric
- Anderson, Charles Carter
- Anderson, Charles Harper Jr.
- Anderson, Clyde Bertram
- Anderson, Edward Abel
- Anderson, Edward Lee
- Anderson, Fernald Philip
- Anderson, Franklin Warren
- Anderson, George W.
- Anderson, Herbert Augustus
- Anderson, Herbert Henry
- Anderson, Jay Stephens
- Anderson, Joseph Bruce
- Anderson, Kenneth Leroy
- Anderson, Norman Oliver
- Anderson, Paul Ramseur
- Anderson, Richard Beatty
- Anderson, Richard Ernest
- Anderson, Robert Harold
- Anderson, Roy Gene
- Anderson, Samuel Clay
- Anderson, Thomas Carlyle
- Anderson, Vernon Leroy
- Anderson, Walter Stratton
- Anderson, William Donald
- Anderson, William Lovett
- Anderson, William Robert
- Anderton, Henry Lafayette Jr.
- Andrews, Adolphus
- Andrews, Burton Howell
- Andrews, Cecil L.
- Andrews, Charles Herbert
- Andrews, Charles Lee Jr.
- Andrews, Clyde Cecil
- Andrews, Edgar Clessie Jr
- Andrews, Frank Arland
- Andrews, John Jr.
- Arnold, Murr E.
- Austin, Bernard Lige
- Modern Bios B
- Bagley, David Worth
- Bahm, George Henry
- Bailey, Carlos Augustus
- Bailey, Charles Streater
- Bailey, John
- Bailey, Leonard William
- Bailey, Watson Osgood
- Bailey, William Byron
- Bains, George Washington
- Baird, Abraham Lincoln
- Baird, Charles Fitz
- Baird, Leonard James
- Bakenhus, Reuben Edwin
- Baker, Charles Adams
- Baker, Douglas
- Baker, Duncan Scott
- Baker, Felix Locke
- Baker, Guy Evans
- Baker, Harold Davies
- Baker, Harold Edward
- Baker, Robert Leon
- Baker, Robert Nicholson Scott
- Baker, Wilder Dupuy
- Baker, William Bostock
- Bakke, Harlan James
- Bakutis, Fred Edward
- Baldridge, Harry Alexander
- Baldwin, Frank
- Baldwin, Frank Edward
- Baldwin, Robert Bemus
- Baldwin, Robert Hayes Burns
- Balis, Theodore Lawrence
- Ball, Claude Russell
- Ball, George Cornelius Jr.
- Ball, John
- Banister, Alan B.
- Bastedo, Paul Henry
- Beard, Jefferson Davis
- Beardall, John Reginald
- Beardsley, George Francis
- Beardsley, Henry Leidenheimer
- Bearss, Hiram Iddings
- Beary, Donald Bradford
- Beasley, Charles Black
- Beatty, Frank Edmund
- Beatty, Frank Edmund Jr.
- Beauchamp, Ernest Mortimer
- Beaumont, Arthur Edwaine
- Beaumont, Richard Austin
- Beauregard, Augustin T.
- Beaver, Bud Kearns
- Beaver, Robert Harmon
- Beck, Edward Louis
- Becker, Adolph Ernest Jr.
- Becker, Albert Lilly
- Becker, Alvin Lannard
- Becker, Charles
- Becker, John Joseph
- Becknell, Thomas Leonard Jr.
- Becton, Frederick Julian
- Bedell, Floyd Carson
- Bedell, Porter Fryman
- Beebe, Marshall Ulrich
- Beebe, Robert Park
- Beecher, William Gordon Jr.
- Beggs, Kenneth Gould
- Behm, Edward William
- Behner, Herbert Chauncey
- Behnke, Albert Richard Jr.
- Behrens, Charles Frederick
- Behrens, William Wholsen Jr.
- Behrens, William Wohlsen
- Belcher, Preston Randolph
- Belcher, Roy S. Jr.
- BeLieu, Kenneth E.
- Beling, John Kingsman
- Belin, Peter
- Belknap, George Eugene
- Belknap, Reginald Rowan
- Bell, Clarence Edwin
- Bell, David Bonar
- Bellerby, Russell John
- Belles, Ralph Glenn
- Bellinger, Patrick Nieson Lynch
- Berns, Max Arnold Jr.
- Bernstein, Henry Emil
- Berree, Norman Rahn
- Berrey, Julius M.
- Berrien, Frank Dunn
- Blakely, Edward Noe
- Bulkeley, John Duncan
- Burke, Arleigh A
- Burke, Arleigh A.
- Beardslee, Lester Anthony
- Beard, Donald Charles
- Bean, Alan Lavern
- Beam, Carl Eugene
- Bean, Lawrence Lytton
- Behan, Austin Carity
- Modern Bios C
- Cabanillas, Jose M.
- Cabaniss, Robert Wright
- Cabot, Hugh
- Cadwalader, John
- Cady, John Parmelee
- Cafferata, William Francis
- Cagle, Malcolm Winfield
- Cain, James Bernice
- Cain, Mat Murry Jr.
- Caine, Lawrence Ballif Jr.
- Calder, William Edward, III
- Caldwell, Clarence Mills
- Caldwell, Henry Howard
- Calhoun, William Lowndes
- Callaghan, Daniel Judson
- Carney, Robert Bostwick
- Chafee, John Hubbard
- Chandler, Theodore Edson
- Clark, Joseph James
- Claytor, William Graham, Jr.
- Coe, James Wiggins
- Connally, John Bowden, Jr.
- Caldwell, Turner Foster Jr.
- Caldwell, Robert Hugh Jr
- Callahan-Edward Cooper
- Caldwell, Rex Smith
- Calhoun, Walter Carson
- Callahan, Cornelius Patrick Jr.
- Callahan, Fort Hammond
- Callaghan, William McCombe
- Callahan, Joseph William
- Calkins, Willard Charles
- Callaghan, Robert William
- Calvert, Allen Phillip
- Calvert, James Francis
- Calver, George Wehnes
- Calvy, George Lloyd
- Camera, John Alden
- Camera, Robert Snowden
- Cameron, Alan Russel
- Campbell, Herbert John
- Campbell, Gordon
- Campbell, George William
- Campbell-James-Harry
- Campbell, Norwood Axtell
- Campbell, Robert Lord
- Canada, Robert Owen Jr
- Canaga, Bruce Livingston
- Canaga, Bruce Livingston Jr
- Cantrell, Roy Foster
- Caney, Lawrence Davidson
- Canty, Joseph Patrick
- Modern Bios D
- Modern Bios E
- Modern Bios F
- Modern Bios G
- Gabbert, John S. C.
- Gaddis, Seeman
- Gaffney, John Jerome
- Gaillard, William Edward
- Gainard, Joseph A.
- Gaines, Oliver Wallace
- Gaines, Richard Kenna
- Galantin, Ignatius Joseph
- Garcia, Edmund E.
- Garrett, III H. Lawrence
- Gates, Jr. Thomas Sovereign
- Gay, George Henry
- Geiselman, Ellis Hugh
- Ghormley, Robert Lee
- Giffen, Robert Carlisle
- Gingrich, John E.
- Modern Bios H
- Modern Bios I
- Modern Bios J
- Modern Bios K
- Modern Bios L
- Modern Bios M
- Mabus, Raymond Edwin, Jr.
- Martin, Charles Franklin
- McCann, Allan R.
- McClusky, Clarence Wade
- McGonagle, William Loren
- McMorris, Charles H.
- Michaelis, Frederick
- Miles, Milton E.
- Mitscher, Marc Andrew
- Moffett, Willam Adger, Sr.
- Moffett, William Adger, Jr.
- Momsen, Charles B.
- Montgomery, Alfred Eugene
- Moorer, Thomas Hinman
- Morison, Samuel Eliot
- Mullinnix, Henry Maston
- Murray, Albert Ketcham
- Mustin, Lloyd M.
- Modern Bios N
- Modern Bios O
- Modern Bios P
- Modern Bios Q
- Modern Bios R
- Modern Bios S
- Sanchez, Henry Gabriel
- Scott, Norman
- Semmes, Raphael
- Sherman, Frederick C.
- Sims, William Sowden
- Sowell, Jesse Clyburn
- Spencer, Richard V.
- Sprague, Clifton Albert Frederick
- Sprague, Thomas L.
- Spruance, Raymond Ames
- Stackley, Sean Gerard Joseph
- Stockdale, James Bond
- Struble, Arthur Dewey
- Sullivan, John Lawrence
- Modern Bios T
- Modern Bios U
- Uehlinger, Archibald Emil
- Uhrenholdt, Andrew Curtis
- Ulen, Francis Graeme
- Underhill, Edward Griffin
- Underhill, James L.
- Underwood, Herbert Whitwell
- Ungar, J. Stephen
- Unmacht, George Paul
- Upham, Frank Brooks
- Urban, Kenneth Lee
- Urbanczyk, Louis Thaddeus, Jr.
- Urquhart, James Burwell, Jr.
- Ustick, Theodore Montanye
- Utter, Harmon Tischer
- Modern Bios V
- Valencia, Eugene Anthony
- Van Landingham, J. Philip
- Van Mater, Blinn
- Van Meter, Karl Schlegel
- Van Metre, Merle
- Van Metre, Thaddeus Johnson
- Van Ness, Harper Elliott
- Van Orden, Merton, Dick
- Van Swearingen, Earl Kendall
- Van Valkenburgh, Franklin
- Van Zandt, James Edward
- Vannoy, Frank Wilson
- VanPeenen, Hubert John
- Vardaman, James Kimble, Jr.
- Varian, Donald Cord
- Vasey, Lloyd Roland
- Vaughan, James John
- Vaughan, Paul
- Vaughn, Robert James
- Veasey, Alexander Craig
- Veazey, David Julian
- Vecchione, Felix Salvatore
- Veeder, William Schuetze
- Vejtasa, Stanley Winfield
- Veline, Carl Ashton
- Vellis, Demetrius John
- Venlet, David J.
- Verhoye, Harry James
- Vernou, Walter Newhall
- Vesole, Kay Kopl
- Vest, John Pinckney Wheeler
- Veth, Kenneth LeRoy
- Vickrey, William Clyde, Jr.
- Vieweg, Walter Victor Rudolph
- Villines, William McKinley, Jr.
- Vincent, Walter Michael
- Vincent, Warren Crist
- Vinock, Eli
- Violett, Quentell
- Virden, Frank
- Virtue, Clark Wakeman
- Visser, Richard Gerben
- Vita, Harold Emanuel
- Vitale, Michael C.
- Vittek, Albert William
- Vitucci, Vito Louis
- Voegeli, Clarence Earl
- Voelker, George E.
- Voetsch, Stephen S.
- Vogan, Guy Sedgwick
- Voge, Richard George
- Vogel, Joseph
- Vogeley, Theodore Robert
- Vogelgesang, Carl Theodore
- Vogt, Larry Gene
- Voils, Roy Cramer
- Von Dreele, William Henry
- Von Heimburg, Ernest Herman
- Von Kleeck, Ernest Saint Clair, Jr.
- Von Weller, George Schoen
- Voorhies , James Franklin
- Voris, Frank Burkhart
- Vorse, Albert Ogden, Jr.
- Vose, James Everett, Jr.
- Vose, William Cecil
- Vosseller, Aurelius Bartlett
- Vossler, Francis Alfred L.
- Vraciu, Alexander
- Modern Bios W
- Modern Bios X
- Modern Bios Y
- Yancey, Evan White
- Yankey, William Rose
- Yarbrough, Oscar D.
- Yarnell, Harry Ervin
- Yates, Charles Moulding
- Yates, Earl Preston
- Yates, Marion Twitty
- Yavorsky, Joseph Thomas
- Yeager, Howard A.
- Yeomans, Elmer E.
- Yesensky, Albert Samuel
- Yon, Joseph Langham
- Yoran, George Francis
- Young, Andrew Lee, Jr.
- Young, Cassin
- Young, Charles B.
- Young, David Bryan
- Young, David Bryan, Jr.
- Young, Howard Leyland
- Young, Leo C.
- Young, Lloyd Verne
- Young, Mark A.
- Young, Rufus Calhoun
- Young, Robert Todd
- Young, William Brent
- Youngblood, Curtis Tillman
- Youngkin, Carl Kenneth
- Youtz, Ellis Gardiner
- Modern Bios Z
- Zabilsky, John
- Zabriskie, Jr. David
- Zacharias, Ellis Mark
- Zahm, John Crawford
- Zech, Jr. Lando William
- Zehner, John Adolphus
- Zeigler, Samuel Jacob
- Zelibor, Thomas E.
- Zellars, Thomas Edward
- Zemmer, Harold Maurice
- Zern, Richard Dewey
- Ziegemeier, Henry, Joseph
- Zilmer, Richard C.
- Zimble, James Allen
- Zimermann, Richard Galt
- Zimet, Stanford Frederick
- Zimmerli, Rupert Meyrick
- Zimmerman, Max Edward
- Zimmerman, Milton Abraham
- Zimmerman, Nelson Daniel
- Zimmerman, Walter Earnest
- Zimmermann, Edwin Julius Jr.
- Ziroli, Humbert William
- Zitzewitz, Herbert Carl
- Zobel, William Alexander
- Zola, Stanley Peter
- Zondorak, Charles Joseph
- Zornow, Gerard, Philip
- Zurmuehlen, Gerald Dale
- Zumwalt, Elmo Russell
- Zundell, Joseph L.
- Biography
- World War II 1939-1945
- Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
John Ford
1 February 1895 - 31 August 1973

John Ford was born at Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on 1 February 1895. He was graduated from the public schools of Portland, Maine, in 1914, attended the University of Maine, Orono, Maine, from which he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts in 1939, and directed motion pictures from 1920 on for the following Hollywood studios in Hollywood, California: Universal, Fox, United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Radio-Keiths-Orpheum (RKO), and Twentieth Century-Fox.
He entered the United States Naval Reserve on 3 October 1934 in the rank of Lieutenant Commander and on 11 September 1941 reported for active duty. He was promoted to Commander, 7 October 1941, and to Captain on 17 August 1945 to rank from 10 June 1943. He was placed on the Honorary Retired List in the rank of Rear Admiral on 1 May 1951.
In 1940, while on inactive duty in the Naval Reserve, he received a Letter of Commendation from the Commandant, Eleventh Naval District, for his "initiative in securing valuable information on California." In September 1941, after completing the direction of the motion picture How Green Was My Valley, and twenty-five years in the motion picture industry, he reported for active duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department, Washington, DC. He had additional duty in the Office of Coordinator of Information, Photographic Presentation Branch, and while serving in that assignment made a historical and pictorial record in motion-picture photography of the Pearl Harbor attack.
From December 1941 until May 1943 he had temporary duties, in addition to his assignment in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, in the Canal Zone, Caribbean, South Atlantic Areas (December 1941); the Hawaiian Area (January 1942 and May 1942); European Theatre (August 1942); and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (April 1943). In June 1942 he was in Midway during the battle for that island, observing and obtaining a photographic record from atop the Midway Island powerhouse, an obvious and clear target. He survived continuous attack and even though wounded was able to render a verbal report of the battle action, such information greatly aiding the Commanding Officer in the disposition of the defending American forces. In addition to photographing The Battle of Midway, later released by the War Activities Committee, he scored it and added dialogue.
He received a Letter of Commendation from the Commandant, Fourteenth Naval District "For distinguished service in the line of his profession when on June 4, 1942, the Naval Air Station, Midway Island, was severely bombed and strafed by Japanese aircraft. Despite his exposed position he remained at his station and reported to the Navy Command Center an accurate account of the attack, thereby aiding the Commanding Officer in determining his employment of the defending forces. His courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval service."
He also was awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds received off Midway Island on 4 June 1942.
On 8 June 1943 he reported for duty in the Office of Strategic Services, Washington, DC, as Officer in Charge, Field Photographic Division, with additional duty as Director of Motion Pictures. The following August he had temporary additional duty as Technical Observer in the Burma-India-China Area. In April 1944 he served as Technical Observer with the Branch Office, Office of Strategic Services, London, England, in connection with the accomplishment of various reconnaissance flights in combat areas in preparation of strategic motion picture sequences from air.
In the Invasion of Normandy, June 1944, he organized the seaborne Allied photographic effort in the Invasion and was the Commanding Officer of the United States Navy and Coast Guard, and the Polish, French, and Dutch camera crews. In November 1944, after his return to the United States, he was temporarily released from active duty to return to Hollywood to work with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on production and direction of the motion picture They Were Expendable, which portrayed PT boat activity in the United States Navy.
In July 1945 he returned to active status in the US Naval Reserve and served again with the Office of Strategic Services, Washington, DC, until October 1945, when he was again released to inactive duty. For four years of outstanding services rendered the Government of the United States, he was awarded the Legion of Merit with citation as follows:
"For exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Chief of the Field Photographic Branch, Office of Strategic Services, from September 1941 to September 1945. Voluntarily recruiting and organizing approximately three hundred technicians as a Naval photographic group, Captain Ford greatly aided in establishing the photographic branch of the Office of Strategic Services and, exercising close and careful supervision of numerous branch projects, developed valuable new equipment which is now in use by the United States Army Signal Corps. Energetic and resourceful, he worked tirelessly toward the preparation and direction of secret motion-picture and still photographic reports and ably directed the initiation and execution of a program of secret intelligence photography. Participating in the Battle of Midway, the Tokyo Raid, North African Invasion and Invasion of the Normandy Coast, Captain Ford controlled all seagoing photography of United Nations operations in these major battles, rendering this vital service under extremely difficult and dangerous combat conditions. Assigned the mission of observing and obtaining a photographic record of the impending enemy naval attack at Midway, Captain Ford courageously took station on top of the Midway Island power plant, were he remained a clear target as the enemy waged a savage, unexpected and continuous air attack and, although wounded early in the action, succeeded in delivering by telephone a running, verbal report of the battle, thereby aiding the Commanding Officer in the disposition and use of the defending American forces throughout the action. By his brilliant service in a highly specialized field, Captain Ford contributed materially to the successful prosecution of the war."
In addition to the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart, Rear Admiral Ford was awarded the American Defense Service Medal; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; the American Campaign Medal; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; and the Naval Reserve Medal (for ten years of service).
In civil life, Rear Admiral Ford wrote, directed, or produced more than 130 films in a career spanning four decades. He was awarded the Photoplay Magazine Gold Medal in 1928; the Critics Award in 1935 (for directing The Informer), in 1939 (for Stagecoach), and in 1940 (for The Long Voyage Home and The Grapes of Wrath); the Foreign Press Club Award and the Belgian Prix du Roi in 1935; and the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Directorial Award in 1935 and 1940. Additionally, he won Oscar Awards for The Informer, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Quiet Man (1952) and the documentary for the US Navy, The Battle of Midway (1942). In 1973 he received the American Film Institute's first Lifetime Achievement Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was a Member of the Motion Picture Directors Association and the Screen Directors Guild, and held various awards from foreign countries.
Rear Admiral Ford passed away 31 August 1973 in Palm Springs, California.

Footnotes

- Accessibility/Section 508 |
- Employee Login |
- FOIA |
- NHHC IG |
- Privacy |
- Webmaster |
- Navy.mil |
- Navy Recruiting |
- Careers |
- USA.gov |
- USA Jobs
- No Fear Act |
- Site Map |
- This is an official U.S. Navy web site