White House Photograph by David Hume Kennerly Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library

Gerald R. Ford will be remembered as the man that pardoned President Richard Nixon, thus ending a turbulent period in US history that had divided the country and disgraced the government. President Ford had the courage to do the very unpopular deed knowing it would be political suicide; but, he knew the pardon was all that could restore the ailing country's faith and trust in the Presidency after the Watergate scandal.

I will always remember President Ford as the Commander in Chief when Saigon fell and the Vietnam War finally came to an end. He was the only person to serve as President of the United States without having been elected, succeeding to the office as the 38th US President after Richard Nixon resigned. President Ford received the country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1999 for his unselfish act of courage.