160426-N-YW238-030 NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (April 26, 2015) Norma Bauerschmidt, a 91-year-old World War II veteran and member of Women Accepted for Voluntary Service (WAVES), takes her first steps in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during a tour of the ship. Bauerschmidt’s family shares a unique connection with the ship’s namesake, President Gerald R. Ford. After she was denied her military benefits, she wrote to her congressman, Ford, who resolved the issue and personally delivered Bauerschmidt her first benefits check. Her family linked with Ford again when her daughter, a secret service agent, helped coordinate arrangements for President Ford’s funeral. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Connor Loessin/Released)