World War II veteran receives special tour of Ford's Heritage Fleet of cars
Ford Motor Co. hosted a special guest Monday for a special viewing of its Ford Heritage Fleet of vehicles at its Dearborn headquarters.
Bill McCubbin, a 102-year-old World War II veteran and former Ford dealership owner, traveled hundreds of miles from Indiana to Dearborn after seeing Ford's Heritage collection of vehicles on CBS News over the weekend. McCubbin's family contacted Ted Ryan, Ford's Archives and Heritage Brand Manager, about setting up a visit.
McCubbin owned a Ford dealership in Madison, Indiana, for more than 60 years, but his history with Ford began as a young soldier.
"Bill's story is fascinating," Ryan said. "You know, his first Ford contact, he came to work at Willow Run building B-24 Liberator bombers.
"I was already drafted, just waiting for a spot to go into the Navy, so I lived over in Ann Arbor for four months and worked at Willow Run Ford," McCubbin said.
McCubbin's story amazes Ryan, and he says the company is honored to welcome home a hero and former longtime Ford dealer and employee.
McCubbin's love for Ford began as a young boy living in Kentucky.
My second-oldest brother used to sell cars in Detroit, and he visited us down in Kentucky when I was just a little kid; I come from a family of eight kids. He came down with a Model A with the double spare tires in the fenders, a little convertible. I thought, 'Boy, I've gotta have one of those,' and that's really what got me started to loving Ford," McCubbin said.
With his long history with Ford, McCubbin was excited to visit the special fleet of vehicles, and he was the star of the show during Monday's visit.
"I guess I've always had Ford Motor Company running in my blood. I've always loved Ford and still do," McCubbin said.
