became second in command of the Atlantic Fleet. Rear Admiral Ward retired on October 10, 1913, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 62. Retirement In 1914 Ward commanded the ship Red Cross which was sponsored by the American Red Cross and carried physicians and nurses to provide medical aid to wounded and sick soldiers and civilians of all nationalities. Emperor Franz Joseph awarded Ward the Austro-Hungarian Medal of Merit for his service in the capacity. In retirement Ward lived at his home, named Willowmere, in Roslyn, New York, where he pursued his hobby of cultivating roses. He was a member of the General Society of Colonial Wars and a hereditary member of the Aztec Club of 1847. Death Admiral Ward died on July 5, 1918, and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York City. Family Ward married Annie Cairns Willis and was the father of six children. Four of his children died during childhood. When his son Frankie (1877-1880) died when he was only three and a half, Ward had a life size statue placed on his grave. His two daughters who reached maturity were artist Hilda Ward and Edna Ward Capps the wife of Rear Admiral Washington Lee Capps. Awards Sampson Medal Spanish Campaign Medal Philippine Campaign Medal Medal of Merit (Austria-Hungary) Legacy Three United States Navy ships have been named after Admiral Aaron Ward - , served between 1919 and 1940 and then became HMS Castleton. , served between 1942 and her sinking by Japanese bombers in 1943. , was a destroyer minelayer that served in 1944 and 1945. See also for ships named in his honor. Rosa 'Mrs Aaron Ward' (Pernet-Ducher, 1907), named after his wife, Rosa 'Willowmere' (Pernet-Ducher, 1913), named after his property in Roslyn. References 1851 births 1918 deaths United States Navy admirals Military personnel from Philadelphia Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery American military personnel of the Spanish–American War