The National Archives presents Tokens and Treasures: Gifts to Twelve Presidents

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Introduction
About This Exhibit
Herbert Hoover
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Richard Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George Bush
William J. Clinton
Gifts of State

Presidential Library System
Exhibit Hall

 

Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford Library

Gerald R. Ford Signature

Gerald R. Ford
Republican
38th President, 1974-77

 

Silver Star Medal of James Barnett and Purple Heart Medal of Harry Brohen
Gifts of Mr. Barnett and Mr. Brohen
Bronze, silver, silk, Silver Star: 2 1/8 x 1 1/2 inches;
Purple Heart: 3 3/8 x 1 3/4 inches

Silver Star Medal of James Barnett and Purple Heart Medal of Harry Brohen

In September 1974 President Ford offered amnesty to Vietnam military deserters and "draft dodgers" who had fled the country. Ford hoped that the amnesty would finally heal the deep national divisions the war had caused. Many who had served in Vietnam, or who had lost loved ones there, were outraged. Hundreds of veterans sent President Ford medals earned in Vietnam and previous wars as gifts of protest.

 

President Gerald R. Ford, by Michael Manning, Yardley, Pennsylvania, 1976
Gift of Mr. Manning
Painted Pennsylvania river stone, 19 x 9 x 10 inches

President Gerald R. Ford

Weighing nearly 70 pounds, this caricature includes symbols and motifs particular to President Ford.

 

 

 

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