YELLING AT PRESIDENT FORD

Local James “Jim” Per- kins remembers the day he shouted at President Gerald Ford. “He was watching the tall ships go by,” reminisced Perkins. “He was supposed to ring the bell at precisely 2 p.m., and his staff was walking up to him because it was after 2 p.m.

I said, ‘Mr. President!’... I yelled at him. He’s the only president I’ve ever yelled at and gotten away with it.” The afternoon in question was on Sunday, July 4, 1976. According to the White House Historical Association, President Ford was deep into a whirlwind day across D.C., Pennsylvania, and New York, attending multiple events in celebration of the country’s 200th birthday.

Perkins said he met President Ford in the New York Harbor during an Operation Sail parade event. Operation Sail is a nonprofit founded by John F. Kennedy, in which international ships gather to celebrate important occasions with a maritime parade, according to the organization’s website. The video, “America’s Bicentennial: Operation Tall Ships – 1976” shows massive, beautiful sailing ships flocking to the harbor that day.

More than 200 sailing ships from multiple countries took part in Operation Sail that year, and more than 6 million people attended, then the largest crowd ever in New York City, according to the Gotham Center for New York City History. At that time, Perkins stated he was a petty officer third class in the US Navy with the USS Forrestal, which was selected to be the host ship for the momentous celebration.

Perkins had been selected by his captain to present the bell clapper to President Ford, he said. “It was quite a day,” re- called Perkins, who was 20 at the time. “I was proud to be there as a bicentennial sailor. I handed the bell clapper to President Ford, and then he took it and rang the bicentennial bell.” President Ford rang the bell 13 times, to be exact, in commemoration of the original 13 colonies, according to the White House Historical Association.

“My parents saw me on television,” remembered Perkins. “They saw me next to the president for about 10 minutes, and they really liked that.” The night was capped off with $250,000 worth of fireworks, said Perkins, which would be nearly $1.5 million now, adjusted for inflation. “I thought they were going to burn the Statue of Liberty down,” Perkins said. “I thought they were. There were so many fireworks.”