#3 – Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention

August 19, 1974

On his first Presidential trip outside of Washington, D.C., President Gerald R. Ford delivers an impassioned speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Chicago. He announces his policy for the “earned re-entry” return for Vietnam era draft resisters to the mainstream of American society by requiring two years of alternative public service. President Ford also creates a clemency board to review previous related cases.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention