Ford (FFG 54) - Naval Cruise Book

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P This cruise book is dedicated to the memory of PATRICK OSBORNE FORD whose courage and tenacity in the face of the enemy never faltered, and to all crew members, past and present, who have helped instill those same qualities within the hull and upon the decks of the USS FORD. Y ou-X Sf- Q l fr oily? I ff?

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PA' 1 ii OSBCRNE FORD was born in San Frar isco, California, on 2 May 1942. At the age of 15 he moved to Phoenix, Arizon: where he attended Camelback ...td North High School. Sholcly after graduation, Ford enlisted inttne Navy on 24 July 1959. He completed basic training at the Naval Training Center, San Diego, Caiifornli,a.,,and received orders to report to the Naval Station, Adak, Alaska. On 12 February .961, he reported aboard the destroyer JAMES E. KYES KDD-7871 where he served as a Gunner's Mate until the end of his enlistment on 25 April 1963.5 G Petty Offices I ,rd reenlisted on 11 February 1965 and served at the Naval Station, Long Beach, California. On 4 March 1966, he was transferred to the Naval Support Activity, Danang, Republic of Vietnam, where he was ordered to report aboard the USS GEORGE K. MACKENZIE CDD-8361. Following completion of his tour aboard the MACKENZIE, Ford was subsequently transferred to the HSS HENDERSON CDD-785l where he remained until the end of his second enlistment on 30 August 1967. . , it Ford reenlisted for a second time at the Naval Receiving Station, San Francisco on 15 September 1967. He was ordered to the Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, California, for River Patrol Craft Training. On 2 February 1968, Petty Officer Ford was directed to report to the Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam. He was assigned to Task Force 116 KOPERATION GAME NRDENJ, River Squadron Five on 18 February 1968. For the next five months, he serv ... aS a patrol river boat QPBRJ sailor, monitoring the traffic of the many rivers and coastal waterways of the area. On June 21, 1968, GMG2 Ford was serving as the after gunner aboard PBR-750 as part of a two boat patrol operating in the upper My Tho River near the town of Cai Be. The boats were maneuvering down the river when they spotted a sampan fleeing into a nearby canal. PBR-750 gave chase and captured the sampan one hundred meters further up the canal. As the patrol boat returned to the river with a Viet Cong suspect and the captured sampan in tow, it was ambushed by a Viet Cong patrol who unleashed an overwhelming barrage of heavy machine gun fireand rockets. I Two explosive B-40 rockets struck PBR4750 immediately killing the patrol leader, Lieutenant William E. Dennis and the boat coxswain, Boatswain's,Mate First Class Scott C. Delph. Within seconds the patrol boat was ablaze and out of control, heading directly forthe Viet Cong positions. As the PBR veered toward the river bank, at least four additional rockets struck the craft. Ford, being seriously wounded in the initial barrage, tenaciously maintained a steady volume of return fire from his aft machine gun station until he perceived that the boat was out of control. In the face of enemy gunfire and with his clothes on fire, Ford assisted three seriously wounded shipmates from the PBR into the water. Only after insuring that all surviving crew members had left the boat did Ford make his way into the water. He was the last man alive to leave what was left of PBR-750. Soon after Petty Officer Ford entered the water, he was killed by a burst of enemy machine gun fire. However, as a result of his fearless devotion to duty, he saved the lives of two of his shipmates. For his extraordinary heroism in battle on 21 June 1968 and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Navy, Petty Officer Ford was posthumously awarded the'Navy Cross. 5 masse. ...M s' 5,553 , at 5 I ' 2 n ' U E Q , 1' E In Q: l gs.. ff t ,, 1 mg il i l