 Following the war , Ford returned home to work with his father in the family insurance business , and graduated from the Maryland School of Insurance in 1947 . On June 7 , 1949 , he enlisted in the Kentucky Army National Guard and was assigned to Company I of the 149th Infantry Regimental Combat Team in Owensboro . On August 7 , 1949 , he was promoted to Second Lieutenant of Infantry . In 1949 , Ford 's company was converted from infantry to tanks , and Ford served as a Company Commander in the 240th Tank Battalion . Promoted to First Lieutenant of Armor , he transferred to the inactive Guard in 1956 , before being discharged in 1962 . 
