Former Virginia Senator John Warner was presented with the 2018 Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Michael Ford, son of President Gerald R. Ford and chair of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, at a ceremony on Monday. Warner received the honor during the annual reception and dinner of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation (GRFPF), at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., for his years of dedication and service to his country.
Warner was elected in 1978 to represent the state of Virginia in the U.S. Senate. His committee memberships included: the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Warner served in the Senate until 2009, making him that state’s second-longest serving senator in history.
During the presentation, former Ambassador and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Carla Hills, who chairs the GRFPF awards committee, spoke about Warner’s service before being elected to the U.S. Senate. She noted Warner served for five years as Under Secretary, and later as Secretary, of the U.S. Navy and was appointed by Gerald R. Ford to be the director of the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.
“Throughout his extraordinary public service career, Senator John Warner has demonstrated the personal and professional qualities exemplified by his dear friend President Gerald R. Ford –Integrity, Strength of Character, Diligence, Patriotism, and Sound Judgment,” said Hills. “He is indeed a worthy recipient of the President Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service.”
Warner grew up in Washington D.C. and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. He left the military as a petty officer third class and went to college at Washington and Lee University, followed by the University of Virginia Law School. During the Korean War, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
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