Season 1, Episode 29

SFC John Ford

LA roots in the heart of Texas

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!