Jul 8, 2023
If you listen to my podcasts, you've heard his voice plenty of
times. You just didn't know that the talent behind the intro and
outro belongs to my son, John.
Born right here in Lower Arkansas, John Ford, Jr. has spent but few years in the Natural State. His upbringing in West Africa and Portugal, along with multiple postings by the U.S. Army, have just about erased any hint of the South Arkansas drawl.
Like his dad, he likes to say he has a voice and a face made
for radio, but that's an exaggeration--he's a handsome fellow and
would have done well in television or movies. But after 22 years in
the U.S. Army and with retirement just around the corner, he seems
to have found his niche in a horse pasture.
Not just any pasture, this is on Ft. Sam Houston, a joint base
with the U.S. Air Force in San Antonio, Texas. It's the home to one
of 78 national cemeteries and one of only two active-duty,
full-time caisson units in the U.S. Army. The other is at Arlington
National Cemetery where John was first introduced to
horses.
John was interviewed several years back and appeared on
a CBS News segment detailing
the work of the caisson platoon. The Army has apparently recognized
his speaking abilities, which he first learned at Radio Stations
KVMA/KFMV during his stint at Southern Arkansas University. He's
appeared in a publicity post on the Army's Instagram Account, and
narrated several events, including last year's 9/11 Commemoration
at Ft. Sam Houston.
We caught up with him recently on a family trip to San
Antonio. Highlights of the trip included watching him fire the 75
mm howitzer for the July 4th observance of Independence Day and
attending taekwondo classes for his son, Rion, He and his
wife Lisa have two children at home, Evelyn and Rion. Two other
children, Darean and Dalton, are already grown and living
elsewhere.
He reminisced about his previous Army deployments, talked
about how he first became interested in working with the horses,
and gave some thought to what he would do in retirement on today's
episode. Take a listen here or wherever you get your
podcasts!