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Posted by: kwflatbed



Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times
Joseph M. Ford, Sr., center, and members of Lance Cpl. Michal L. Ford's immediate family stand in front of the fallen Marine's casket at Massachusetts National Cemetary in Bourne yesterday.

'Thank you for your service'
By Curt Brown, Standard-Times staff writer
BOURNE — Lance Cpl. Michael L. Ford — fondly remembered as a loving son who tried to make his world a better place — was laid to rest yesterday as a brave, young hero who served his country when it needed him most.
The 19-year-old Marine was buried with full military honors at the Massachusetts National Cemetery as a wind-driven rain soaked and chilled attendees at the graveside services.
Lance Cpl. Ford was killed April 26, one day shy of a month into his tour of duty, when his tank struck an improvised explosive device in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.
Members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head performed a drum service beside the Marine's grave. The corporal's late mother, Cheryl (Viger) Ford, and the five children are members of the tribe.
Sitting under a small pavilion that sheltered the family from the rain, Joseph M. Ford Sr., Michael's father, watched as the Marines removed the U.S. flag that had covered his son's casket and then carefully folded it for presentation to the family.
Mr. Ford clutched the flag to his chest, after receiving it from Marine 1st Sgt. Todd Parisi, while a 21-gun salute sounded and a bugler played the mournful tune of "Taps."
As the notes sounded, Michael's older brother, Joseph Ford, Jr., tugged on his father's right arm for emotional support.
The same courage and strength of character that the young Marine displayed during wartime was also evident at the funeral service in the family's place of worship, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, North Dartmouth, where Michael's father sang a loving hymn to his departed son.
Mr. Ford, wearing an American flag necktie, stopped once during his singing of "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go," and then quickly asked to start again.
His deep voice remained strong and unwavering throughout the hymn.
"I knew if I didn't go first, I would not have been able to do it," he said later.
Michael's aunt, Mary Ford Braden, sang the final hymn at the church service, "God be with You Until We Meet Again."
Gov. Mitt Romney headed a list of national, state and local dignitaries that included New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank and state Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny.
Barbara Owen, a close family friend and church member, offered several unique remembrances of Michael, or as she knew him, "Mikey." She said she watched him grow up and he was like another member of her family and frequently would join them when they went out.
"He was like a son to us," she said. "It was very natural for us to say, 'Come on, Michael. Let's go.'"
She said she and Michael shared a special relationship. She said she would squeeze his cheeks together, give him a kiss and tell him she loved him.
She said he loved his family and openly accepted the burden of life in a big family. She said he understood that sometimes he had to play an extra game of checkers or chess with his siblings even if his heart wasn't in it.
Michael was the second-oldest of five children born to Joseph and Cheryl Ford.
Ms. Owen said Michael had a caring heart and lived his life by treating everyone he met with respect. When Michael's mother passed away, she said he followed his faith, which helped him through the tragedy.
She said she expressed her concerns for his safety when Michael told her he had enlisted in the Marines.
"Oh, Michael," she recalled telling him. "They are always out there first, clearing the way for others. Why do you want to be a Marine?"
"I want to be the best of the best," she remembered him saying.
She said Michael told her he was going to join the Marines to fight terrorism so the nation didn't have to fight it on U.S. soil.
"He knew he had to go over to a different country to protect us," she said.
She lauded his personal qualities of cheerfulness and trustworthiness and said there are "too few men like Michael among us."
Then looking down at the Marine's casket, she said, "Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your service.
"Good-bye, Mikey. You are the best of the best," she said.

Contact Curt Brown at
cbrown@s-t.com

Online extra
More images and sounds from the funeral
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily...1mainphoto.htm
Date of Publication: May 10, 2006 on Page A10

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Gestures of love, gratitude
By aaron nicodemus, Standard-Times staff writer

DARTMOUTH — A community showed its respect yesterday for Lance Cpl. Michael L. Ford, a 19-year-old New Bedford Marine who was killed less than a month after deploying to Iraq.
A huge American flag flew over Cross Road as the hearse carrying the Marine's body passed. The flag was held by two Dartmouth fire engines.
The engines extended their ladders over the road, and the flag hung from the ladders. Police from Dartmouth and New Bedford provided an escort to the hearse and a limousine carrying the family. Later as the hearse was heading down Cross Road to the highway and the burial at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, a good Samaritan waved an American flag in a show of respect.
Outside the church, about 30 members of the Patriot Guard Riders sat in the rain, waiting to follow the hearse to the Bourne cemetery. The motorcyclists attend funeral services for fallen soldiers to honor their sacrifice and also to protect the family from protesters, according to Richard J. Keniston, a ride captain for the group.
"We're here to pay our respects," he said. The group, with thousands of individual members around the country, has appeared at hundreds of military funerals. Mr. Keniston said the group is growing rapidly, its ranks being swelled by the loved ones of fallen soldiers who are joining to help out.
Nationally, the group was formed in response to the Rev. Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kan., who has appeared at soldiers' funerals declaring that God killed soldiers as divine punishment for the country's enabling of homosexuals.
At funerals where Rev. Phelps did appear, the Patriot Guard Riders would surround him, block him from the view of mourners, and rev their engines whenever he tried to shout his slogans.
Wearing an assortment of leather chaps and do-rags, handlebar mustaches and work boots, the Patriot Guards lined up outside the church holding American flags. They were thanked for appearing by Gov. Mitt Romney and several members of the Marine Honor Guard.
Yesterday, once it was clear Rev. Phelps would not appear, the group logged time in the rain during the service, then followed the funeral procession to the cemetery.
At Massachusetts National Cemetery, mourners braved the stormy elements. The wind and rain blew a hat off the head of one Marine Honor Guard member and turned several umbrellas inside out.
Mary Spellman of South Yarmouth stood back from the crowd, watching the service. She said she was there because her husband, Robert, was a member of the Marine Honor Guard.
Although her husband has attended many services for fallen soldiers as a member of the honor guard, yesterday was Mrs. Spellman's first.
"I wanted to come today," she said. "It's such a shame, especially a young fellow like this." When asked what drew her, she paused, then responded, "Maybe I just wanted to pay my respects."
Michael Ford's sister, Heather Ford, a 16-year-old junior at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School, chased two small children around the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints during a reception after the funeral and burial.
She was asked about her thoughts on the day.
"I thought it was beautiful to remember my brother like that," she said.
"It was very kind of all of the police, firefighters and members of the military to attend her brother's service," she remarked.
When asked what she thought of his death in Iraq, Ms. Ford said she is not spending much time dwelling on the war.
"We're just trying to remember what a great person he was," she said.
Neal Doyon, 24, grew up with Michael and Joseph Ford Jr., the oldest of the family's five children.
They went on Boy Scout camping trips and spent a lot of Youth Nights together at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Dartmouth.
He hadn't seen Michael since he was 12, but remembered a "rambunctious and energetic" child who was always quarreling with his brother, "like brothers do."
Contact Aaron Nicodemus at anicodemus@s-t.com

Date of Publication: May 10, 2006 on Page A11

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Posted by: Cinderella

19 years old so so sad

rest in peace

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