George Calvin Ford

     George C. Ford, Navy Fireman 2nd Class, was killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II.  He was accounted for on April 30, 2018.  George was one of the first casualties of this war from Carroll County, Iowa.        Funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 10:30 A.M. at Peace Lutheran Church, 226 W 6th Street, Glidden, Iowa.  Ret. Navy Chaplain Rev. Michael Wolfram will officiate.  Visitation will be held at Peace Lutheran Church from 9:30 A.M. until the time of service.  Following the service, interment with full military honors will take place at the Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery, Glidden, Iowa, with a reception to follow in the fellowship hall at Peace Lutheran Church.     Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com         Fireman 2nd Class George Calvin Ford was born on April 27, 1916, in Sheridan Township, Carroll County, Iowa, to John Calvin and Sophia Margaret Harms Ford.  George attended the Sheridan Township School and was baptized and confirmed at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lidderdale, Iowa.   Following a mechanical interest he studied diesel engineering which was of assistance to him when he joined the Navy.  George enlisted in the U. S. Navy on August 13, 1940 in Des Moines, Iowa.  After a period of training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station he was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. George reported for duty aboard the USS Oklahoma on October 12, 1940.   The USS Oklahoma arrived in Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1940, one year and one day prior to the fatal attack. The ship spent the next several months participating in exercises and conducting patrols as part of the effort to check Japanese aggression.   At the onset of the December 7, 1941 attack, the USS Oklahoma quickly capsized.  Two weeks after the attack Fireman 2nd Class George Calvin Ford was listed missing in action. On February 14, 1942 his status was subsequently amended to reflect that he died as a result of the attack, making the supreme sacrifice upholding the highest tradition of the Navy, in the defense of his country.  His parents later received the Purple Heart, awarded to them as a posthumous decoration in recognition of the service of their son to his country in addition to the American Defense Service Medal and World War II Victory Medal.   George was survived by his parents; his brothers and sisters: Wilbur Ford, Delbert Ford, Gladys Ford Mount, Ira Ford, Ruth Ford Feld and Arlene Ford Hannasch.