David K. Ford was a lifelong AFS volunteer: from his service as an Ambulance Driver in World War II, to overseeing local AFS chapter activities in Ohio, to opening his home and serving as a host family to an AFS exchange student. His passing in December 2024 inspired us to reflect on and celebrate his tremendous contributions, as well as to connect with his daughter, Susan Ford, who has also been a committed AFS volunteer.
David K. Ford was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1925. He joined the American Field Service (AFS) in 1943 at the age of 18 to serve in World War II. His trajectory as a volunteer during World War II took him from Northern Africa, through various regions of Italy, eventually to aid in the evacuation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. David served with distinction, driving 12,000 miles and transporting 450 casualties, until June 1945. As his daughter Susan Ford recalled over the phone in March 2025, her father was a great fit for AFS because he was a bit of a mechanical genius, someone who was able to easily take things apart and put them back together again.
David remained involved with AFS following the war. At the request of Stephen Galatti, AFS Director General, he greeted participants of AFS’ first bus trip in 1948, was in charge of the Cuyahoga County AFS chapter in Ohio for many years, and acted as a host parent. As a teenager, his daughter Susan enjoyed meeting AFS students, was interested in hosting, and her father encouraged the idea. In 1977, the family welcomed Rikke Danielsen from Tønsberg, Norway. From the time Rikke walked off the bus, she integrated into the family seamlessly, and Susan, having grown up with two older brothers, gained a sister. As teens they traveled together, Susan has visited Rikke in Norway numerous times, and the two have attended high school reunions together. The fact that the family connection has endured throughout the years is a true testament to the strength of AFS’ programs.
AFS programs clearly had an impact on Susan much like her father because later, during the fall of 1983, Susan became a field assistant for an AFS region that included her home state of Ohio. Before moving into teaching and education, she supported volunteers and chapters, and worked with school administrators in the Pacific Northwest area.
In the 2011 AFS Janus article, David Ford shared what he would tell young people considering participating in an AFS program today: I would quote my AFS daughter Rikke Danielsen from Tonsberg, Norway when she said:
“AFS makes a huge difference in your life. It helps you develop an immense amount of self-confidence and has a huge impact on the positive development of your future life.”
We thank Susan Ford for her family’s commitment to AFS and her willingness to find a permanent home in the AFS Archives for the notes, maps, letters, reports, and photographs that her father, David Ford kept in his collection over the decades.
Are you a descendant of an AFS Ambulance Driver? We would love to be in touch with you! Please reach out to Paul Gamner via email.