Craig D. Ford

Craig Dwight Ford died peacefully at home in Edmonds, WA. on Sunday 16 September 2018. Craig was born in Canaan, CT on 9 April 1945. Shortly after graduating from high school, he joined the Army completing his basic at Fort Dix, NJ. He graduated from Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA in 1964 and was sent to serve fourteen months in Okinawa in the 173d Airborne Brigade (Sep). On 5 May 1965, his brigade was sent to Vietnam where he served until April 1966. He was the Radiotelephone Operator (RTO) for 1/503 Charlie Company on Hill 65 during Operation Hump in November 1965. This operation was memorialized in a song by Big and Rich – “The Eighth of November”. Returning home and leaving the Army as an E5, he started his career in construction in CT, PA, and WA. He worked for Washington Natural Gas and retired from Puget Sound Energy in 2010 after 29 years. Craig was on the Board of Directors for the 173d Airborne Brigade National Memorial Foundation. The memorial was built on the grounds of the National Infantry Museum, just outside the gates of Fort Benning, GA. “The 173d Airborne Brigade Memorial commemorates the distinguished and valorous combat record of the brigade, as well as pays tribute to the fallen sky soldiers who have given their lives while defending freedom as a member of the brigade” (FB 173d Airborne Brigade Memorial Foundation, About Page). He leaves his wife of 47 years, Pat (Trefny) Ford, his children Ian Ford and Jessica Hofman, and his four grandsons, Damian and Noah Ford and Carter and Kaden Hofman.