Gerald Ford was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan in 1935 and with a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1941. Ford practiced law for a short time and then received a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on April 13, 1942. He served as an instructor with the Navy V-5 school at Annapolis, Maryland, and then with the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from April 1942 to May 1943. LT Ford then served aboard the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) from pre-commissioning in May 1943 until December 1944. During this time he served as the assistant navigator, athletic officer, and antiaircraft battery officer during the ship's engagements in the Gilbert Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Asiatic and Pacific carrier raids, Hollandia, Marianas, Western Carolines, Western New Guinea, and the Leyte Operation. LT Ford was instrumental in saving the ship by leading a team to put out fires during the typhoon that hit Halsey's Third Fleet in December 1944. His next assignment was with the Athletic Department at the Navy Pre-Flight School at Saint Mary's College of California from December 1944 to April 1945, followed by service on the staff of the Naval Reserve Training Command at NAS Glenview, Illinois, from April 1945 until he left active duty on February 23, 1946. He remained in the Naval Reserve until June 28, 1963. Ford served as a Representative with the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 5th district from January 1949 to December 1973, and then served as Vice President of the United States under President Nixon from December 1973 until becoming the 38th President of the United States on August 9, 1974. Ford served as President until January 20, 1977. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton on August 11, 1999. President Ford died on December 26, 2006, and was buried at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the longest-lived U.S. President at 93 years old. Gerald Ford married Betty Bloomer Warren on October 15, 1948, and they remained married until his death.