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Leadership in Diplomacy Gallery at the Gerald R. Ford Library, Helicopter in foreground with exhibit in background that includes numerous pictures artifacts.
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The bell from the S.S. MAYAGUEZ presented to President Ford. On May 14, 1975, in a dramatic move, Ford ordered U.S. forces to retake the S.S. MAYAGUEZ, an American merchant ship seized by Cambodian gunboats two days earlier in international waters. The vessel was recovered and all 39 crewmen saved.
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One of two brass enameled floor vases given to President Ford by the People’s Republic of China in 1975. The vases stand 34 inches tall and feature a variety of decorative flora, fauna, and geometric motifs.
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Bell UH-1 Huey Helicopter

Shuttle Diplomacy

Ford inherited an uneasy foreign policy when he assumed the presidency.  The Cold War and the relations between the Soviet Union and China were unstable, the conflict in the Middle East was still a focus of the world, and our involvement in Vietnam ended as Americans watched as the last troops and refugees were evacuated from Saigon.  On exhibit are an authentic Vietnam-era UH-1 “Huey” helicopter and the actual staircase that sat on top of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon when that city fell to the Communist army of North Vietnam.