A newly married Gerald R. Ford Jr. (35) and Betty Ford (née Bloomer, 30) exit the old Grace Episcopal Church sanctuary in their hometown of Grand Rapids after exchanging vows. About two years earlier, the future 38th president had returned home from naval service — he enlisted in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Stationed in the South Pacific, he would fight in battles across Truk, the Marianas, Guam, Formosa, and the Philippines, before his honorable release in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Gerald met the future First Lady the following year through a mutual friend. Just two weeks after their wedding, he was elected to his first term in the U.S. Congress. Grace Episcopal Church would remain the couple’s lifelong home parish, and it’s where their funeral services took place: his in 2006; hers in 2011. —Jack Thomas
 and Betty Ford (née Bloomer, 30) exit the old Grace Episcopal Church sanctuary in their hometown of Grand Rapids after exchanging vows.){kind=link}