Walter Chilcott Ford
Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Walter Chilcott Ford was born in November 1903 in Buffalo, NY.

Ford graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1925. He reached the rank of Captain soon after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered the war.

He served in World War II where he commanded the Destroyer USS Perkins from 1941-43, which included the Battle of the Solomon Islands on 30 November 1942. He was the Commanding Officer of Destroyer Squadron 23 which saw combat in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Guadalcanal Campaign.

For his actions in the Coral Seas, he was awarded the Bronze Star and for his night operations against the Japanese forces at Guadalcanal and in the Solomon Islands, was awarded the Silver Star.

After the war, he was assigned as an Administrative Aide to the Under-Secretary of the Navy. In 1947, Congress decreed the transformation of General William J. Donovan's Office of Strategic Services into the Central Intelligence Agency. Ford was named its executive director and served until 1949. He next was appointed Assistant Naval Chief of Staff for Intelligence in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Command. He also served as Secretary of the Academic Board at Annapolis for indoctrination of midshipmen.

He transferred to the Maritime Administration in 1954 and served intermittently as Deputy and Acting Administrator until his retirement. He instituted various shipping programs, encouraged research and oversaw the construction of the country's first nuclear merchant ship, the Savannah.

He retired as a Rear Admiral in 1961.

Medals and Awards

Silver Star Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal

In Retirement

After retiring from the Navy he worked as a maritime consultant and corporate director.

Death and Burial

Rear Admiral Walter Chilcott Ford died in 1999 in Bethesda, MD. He is buried at the U.S. Navy Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.