Fords donate to scholarship in memory of father lost in WWII

Bill Ford of Shawnee shakes hands with Captain Aaron Stutzman, Commanding Officer for the USS Oklahoma submarine during a namesake visit at the Woodland Veterans Park and Museum on Sept. 9. Also shown are Rocky Goins, Chairman of the USS Oklahoma Commissioning Committee; Nancy Ford; and CDR Jay Kim, Relieving Commanding Officer. Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun
Bill Ford of Shawnee shakes hands with Captain Aaron Stutzman, Commanding Officer for the USS Oklahoma submarine during a namesake visit at the Woodland Veterans Park and Museum on Sept. 9. Also shown are Rocky Goins, Chairman of the USS Oklahoma Commissioning Committee; Nancy Ford; and CDR Jay Kim, Relieving Commanding Officer. Natasha Dunagan, Countywide & Sun

Lieutenant Commander William H. Mendenhall was 25 years old. His wife, Jayne, had moved back to Edmond, OK, and their baby daughter, Nancy, was only two months old. Mendenhall was serving on the USS Lagarto submarine in May 1945 when it was sunk by a Japanese minelayer, according to the USS Oklahoma, Aug. 12, 2025, newsletter.

It was in Mendenhall’s memory that Nancy and Bill Ford of Shawnee recent…