GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — 50 years ago, on August 9th, Gerald Ford became our country’s 38th president. To commemorate that moment a new exhibit at the Ford Presidential Museum will highlight the important decisions he made in the White House.
“These medals were sent to President Ford, by service members from World War Two, to Vietnam, the present war at that moment, to protest of his decision.” Said Dr. Mirelle Luecke, Supervisory Curator of the Gerald R Ford Presidential Library & Museum.
That decision was to grant clemency to men who were avoiding being drafted.
Dr. Luecke said, “You see throughout the exhibit in these different decisions that he's making, whether it's his decision to grant clemency to Vietnam or draft evaders or attending the Helsinki Accords that he wanted to help bring healing to the nation.”
The exhibit, “Ford at 50:Decisions That Defined a Presidency” is showcasing nearly a hundred artifacts from the archives, many of them have never been displayed.
Brooke Clement, Gerald R Ford Presidential Library & Museum Director said, “There are aspects of President Ford's presidency where people do know what happened. They understand that he became an accidental president, but they may not understand all of the things that he dealt with in his two and a half years as president.”
Visitors will move through Ford’s presidency, from not helping New York City, to rescuing babies from Vietnam, and his decision to pardon former president Richard Nixon.
Dr Luecke said, “I think what people will find when they come to this exhibit is that the past is very present here and I think you can see the connections between the past and the present. And really remember or learn about for the first time, these really extraordinary times and how people were responding in that moment.”
You can see the exhibit in person starting on August 9th and it will be open for a full year.
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