Armed Forces Branches Receive 2006 Medal for Distinguished Public Service

The Armed Forces Branches were named Recipients of the 2006 Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service at a presentation ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. on June 19, 2006. The Award Recipients representing all of the Branches of the Armed Services joined with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the Ford Family for the special event.

Pictured: Marty Allen, Secretary Don Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, Armed Forces Members and the Ford Family

The Gerald R. Ford Medal for Public Service is awarded annually to an individual or entity that has served the public good in the private or public sector. The criteria of the recipient are based on the characteristics that President Gerald R. Ford demonstrated throughout his long and distinguished public service career. They include courage; strength of character; diligence; determination in the face of adversity; compassion and integrity; all of which are exemplified by our Armed Forces.

In making the 2006 award, President Ford spoke directly to the Armed Forces, “In my life, I have received countless honors. Among the greatest of these was the opportunity to wear the uniform of the Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. On an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific during World War II, I learned to respect and rely on comrades as if my life depended on them – because it often did. In civilian life, I was to receive the greatest honor that can come to any American – one magnified by the privilege of serving as Commander in Chief of the bravest, most decent, most professional fighting force the world has ever known.”

” Thirty years on, America’s armed forces remain a principled and compassionate military force to be reckoned with. You fight to secure free and democratic elections in Iraq and Afghanistan. You fight waves of disease and heartbreak in the wake of murderous tsunami. You fight for the future of hurricane victims on America’s Gulf Coast. You fight to protect our borders, and to assist friends half a world away, as we witnessed recently in the Philippines. Above all, through your personal sacrifice and dauntless courage, you make America safe, and the world more free.”

“As a World War II veteran, I yield to no one in my admiration for the hoers of Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima. At the same time, I take enormous inspiration from their grandsons and granddaughters who are writing new chapters of heroisms in the back alleys of Baghdad and the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. We owe you so much; no medal can adequately express our gratitude, or convey our admiration. But to me it is a source of both pride and humility to know that a medal bearing my name will be permanently associated with your valor.”

“God bless you all. And my God bless America.”