He served in the United States Army Air Forces (rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel) from 1940 to 1945.
He was a staff attorney for the National Production Authority in Washington, D.C. from 1951 to 1952.
[1] Ward was nominated by President Richard Nixon on May 18, 1972, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina vacated by Judge Edwin Monroe Stanley.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 28, 1972, and received his commission the same day.
Ward's service was terminated on April 4, 2002, due to his death in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.