Commemorative Gerald R. Ford Stamp Released

The new commemorative 41 cent stamp, featuring the picture of President Gerald R. Ford, will be released nationwide on August 31, 2007. There will be two ceremonies to celebrate the release. One dedication will be at the Gerald R. Ford Presidental Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The other dedication is taking place in Rancho Mirage, California.

Gerald R. Ford was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from the University of Michigan and Yale Law School, he served our country aboard the USS Monterey during World War II. After the war he returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He began the practice of law, and entered into Republican politics. A few weeks before his election to Congress in 1948, he married Elizabeth Bloomer. They have four children: Michael, John, Steven, and Susan. When voters in Michigan's Fifth Congressional District elected Ford to the U.S. House of Representatives in November of 1948, it would be the first of his 13 terms in the House of Representatives.

In December of 1973, he was confirmed by the Congress as Vice President of the United States. Gerald R. Ford was the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Eight months later, Gerald R. Ford became America's 38th President. In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, he succeeded the first President ever to resign.

President Ford won the Republican nomination for the Presidency in 1976, but lost the election to his Democratic opponent, former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. Returning to a more private life, President and Mrs. Ford moved to California where they built a new house in Rancho Mirage. President Ford continued to actively participate in the political process and to speak out on important political issues. In 1981, the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were dedicated. President Ford was the recipient of numerous awards and honors by many civic organizations. He also received many honorary Doctor of Law degrees from various public and private colleges and universities.

President Ford died on December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. Ceremonies were held in California, Washington, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. His body was buried on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

President Ford's daughter Susan Ford Bales stated, "Dad would be very proud to be honored by the Nation through this U.S. postage stamp. Mother and our family are deeply grateful to the Postal Service for creating this wonderful tribute to Dad."

The stamp art is a portrait of President Ford painted by award-winning artist Michael J. Deas, who has produced several stamps for the Postal Service. His work has also appeared on the cover of Time magazine. For more information about the commemorative stamp go to the website : www.usps.com .