Warren "Hawkeye" Fordham fought diabetes to serve his country

Warren Fordham: Diabetes was Navy officer's constant foe

By Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel
June 3, 2011

SANFORD — Warren J. Fordham fought diabetes to serve his country.

The retired lieutenant commander, who once piloted bombers and oversaw operations at the Pinecastle Bombing Range in the Ocala National Forest, also was an insulin-dependent diabetic forced to prove his fitness for duty every year during the final decade of a 30-year career, said his son, Michael Fordham, 63.

"He loved his country," Michael Fordham said. "He would not let it stop him."

Warren Fordham, 84, who lived the past 50 years in Sanford, where he first was assigned to the former Naval Air Station, died Tuesday from complications from a stroke. He struggled with diabetes for more than 50 years.

Fordham, known affectionately by the nickname "Hawkeye" for his sharpshooting basketball skills in high school, enlisted in the Navy as a teenager near the end of World War II and worked his way up the chain of command until the disease threatened to derail his career.

Fordham refused to leave the service — even hiring a military lawyer to argue his case in Washington and extend his career, his son said.

The Navy ultimately allowed him to stay, with some restrictions.

The former pilot and navigator, for instance, was no longer permitted to fly an airplane because of the disease's potential risks. But he became an inspector of aircraft carriers and performed other non-combat duties.

"He was all about duty, honor, country and family," said his daughter, Robin Crockett, 62, of Sanford.
Diabetes was Navy officer's constant foe