The passing of President Gerald Ford this past week brought back into focus something he did many years ago that, in the eyes of many, made the Nebraska native an adopted son of the South.

After the conclusion of the War for Southern Independence, General Robert E. Lee — a descendant of two signers of the Declaration of Independence, the son of a governor of Virginia, the husband of the granddaughter of George Washington — signed an oath of loyalty to the United States on Oct. 2, 1865.

However, due to still queer circumstances, his oath was never processed. Some felt he may be tried for treason, although that never happened when government lawyers advised against it. As a result, when Lee died in 1870, he died truly a man without a country.

One hundred years after Lee’s oath was sent to Washington, a clerk came across it while sorting through papers at the National Archives. By an act of Congress and with the endorsement of President Ford, Lee’s citizenship was restored on July 22, 1975.

On Aug. 5, 1975, Ford spoke at Lee’s boyhood home before a meeting about his decision to grant Lee his citizenship. His words are as follows:

I am very pleased to sign Senate Joint Resolution 23, restoring posthumously the long overdue, full rights of citizenship to General Robert E. Lee. This legislation corrects a 110-year oversight of American history. It is significant that it is signed at this place.

Lee’s dedication to his native State of Virginia chartered his course for the bitter Civil War years, causing him to reluctantly resign from a distinguished career in the United States Army and to serve as General of the Army of Northern Virginia. He, thus, forfeited his rights to U.S. citizenship.

Once the war was over, he firmly felt the wounds of the North and South must be bound up. He sought to show by example that the citizens of the South must dedicate their efforts to rebuilding that region of the country as a strong and vital part of the American Union.

In 1865, Robert E. Lee wrote to a former Confederate soldier concerning his signing the Oath of Allegiance, and I quote: “This war, being at an end, the Southern States having laid down their arms, and the questions at issue between them and the Northern States having been decided, I believe it to be the duty of everyone to unite in the restoration of the country and the reestablishment of peace and harmony.”

This resolution passed by the Congress responds to the formal application of General Lee to President Andrew Johnson on June 13, 1865, for the restoration of his full rights of citizenship. Although this petition was endorsed by General Grant and forwarded to the President through the Secretary of War, an Oath of Allegiance was not attached because notice of this additional requirement had not reached Lee in time.

Later, after his inauguration as President of Washington College on October 2, 1865, Lee executed a notarized Oath of Allegiance. Again his application was not acted upon because the Oath of Allegiance was apparently lost. It was finally discovered in the National Archives in 1970.

As a soldier, General Lee left his mark on military strategy. As a man, he stood as the symbol of valor and of duty. As an educator, he appealed to reason and learning to achieve understanding and to build a stronger nation. The course he chose after the war became a symbol to all those who had marched with him in the bitter years toward Appomattox.

General Lee’s character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride.

In approving this Joint Resolution, the Congress removed the legal obstacle to citizenship which resulted from General Lee’s Civil War service. Although more than a century late, I am delighted to sign this resolution and to complete the full restoration of General Lee’s citizenship.

On Jan. 19, many will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Lee, the watermark for a chivalrous and gentlemanly standard, still generally regarded as one of our nation’s most respected and honorable military figures, and, in my opinion, alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the two most influential Southerners in our history. Gerald Ford is the man responsible for Lee’s citizenship finally — and rightfully — being restored, more than 100 years after the fact.

Of course, in our age of political correctness and revisionist history, doing something of the sort today would probably be viewed as political suicide. But Ford was a man rooted in character and honor, and recognized the irreversible fact that right is always right. In the end, Ford understood that right and truth needs no defense, only exposure — but a lie hides behind a mask that must be defended with lie upon lie.

As Americans pause to remember Ford, I thought it worth reminding you of his act of decency and respect toward a man who he felt deserved no less — Robert Edward Lee.