Moment in History

Floyd Boring and Roy Kellerman were the two ASAIC's of the Kennedy Detail reporting the Jerry Behn, the SAIC..

Floyd was involved in the Blair House attempt on the life of Harry Trueman by two Puerto Rican nationalists in 1950- ( The Truman family was living there while the White House was being renovated. It is located across the street from the White House.). Floyd ended up shooting one of the two people involved in the assassination attempt. It is not the one on the ground. He was killed by a mortally wounded White House Police officer by the name of Leslie Coffelt. Stuart Stout, one of the shift leaders on the Kennedy Detail was also involved. He was manning a Thompson Sub Machine gun just inside the main door to the Blair House in case the potential assassins made it that far.. The story is in the book, this is a photo of Floyd right after the attempt..

With SSA Moore

With Mugsy, Stout, Giannoules

The Only Secret Service Agent to Lose His Life on September 11th

A photograph of Master Special Officer Craig Miller, 29, an East Bridgewater native, who was the only Secret Service agent to die on September 11, 2001. (Emily J. Reynolds/The Enterprise)

EAST BRIDGEWATER — Craig Miller traveled from his home in the Washington, D.C., area to New York on Sept. 9 after he got a last-minute request to provide security as one of 130 Secret Service officers for the annual United Nations General Assembly, which was to take place Sept. 12.

Miller, who had guarded President George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton, was the only Secret Service agent who was killed in the terrorist attacks.

A married father of four, Miller was two months shy of his 30th birthday when he died.

He was a Boy Scout in East Bridgewater and graduated in 1989 from Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School.

After graduation, he enlisted in the Army for more than four years, serving in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He earned two bronze stars and the Kuwait Liberation Medal.

Miller later worked as an instructor for the National Rifle Association. He then worked for a private security company before joining the Secret Service and moving to the Washington area.

Maria Papadopoulos may be reached at mpapadopoulos@enterprisenews.com.

Catherine "Dolly" Berger Wife of SSA Andy Berger

Catherine Ferguson Berger 'Dolly'



January 16, 1939 - August 26, 2011

Dolly, 72, of Charlotte passed away peacefully on Friday, August 26, 2011 surrounded by her family. She was born January 16, 1939 in Albany, NY to the late Edward and Florence Ferguson. Dolly grew up in Larchmont, NY with her five siblings Mary, Edward, Billy, Nan, and Peter. She was preceded in death by her loving husband Andrew, her brother Edward, and sister Mary. Dolly fought a difficult and courageous battle. She inspired many with her positive and sweet spirit. Even in difficult times, in typical Dolly fashion, she wanted to take care of others before she thought of herself.



She attended Marymount College in Arlington, VA. After graduation from Marymount, she was married to Andy Berger on June 25, 1960. During Andy's career in the Secret Service, Dolly and Andy raised their family in New York, Maryland and Charlotte. Dolly was well respected in the retail industry and enjoyed a long career with Montaldo's and most recently with Paul Simon for Women in Charlotte. Dolly's family was the most important thing in her life. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren.



Being a wife and mother was the most important thing to her. Dolly was a woman of grace and elegance and had a wonderful sense of humor. She always made everyone around her feel better. You could always count on Dolly for a kind word or a quick hug. She was a loyal friend to many. She loved to spend time at family gatherings, beach trips to the Jersey Shore, and Kiawah Island, SC. She was happiest when surrounded by family and took great joy in anything having to do with her grandchildren. She is survived by her four children: Katie Higgins of Charlotte, Andrew and his wife Julie of Gastonia, John and his wife Maria of Charlotte and Chris and his wife Heidi of Charlotte. She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Jordan Berger of Gastonia, Kelsey and Connor Higgins of Charlotte, Brady, Riley and Delaney Berger of Charlotte, and Molly and Lucy Berger of Charlotte.



A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. The family would like to thank the many doctors and nurses that helped with her care. They would like to thank the staff at Huntersville Oaks and Hospice of Lake Norman for their compassionate care. A special thanks to nurse Debbie McDougle for the kind and loving care that she gave to our mother.



Online condolences may be made at harryandbryantfuneralhome.com.



Published in Charlotte Observer from August 29 to August 31, 2011

NPR Discusses Charles L. Gittens

by Sam Sanders

Charles L. Gittens' tenure opened the door for hundreds of minority Secret Service agents who served after him. NPR's Sam Sanders reports.









































(Associated Press) - This undated photo from a U.S. Department of Justice identification card shows Charles L. Gittens. Gittens, the first black Secret Service agent, died July 27, 2011. He was 82.

















Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Charles Gittens, 1st black Secret Service agent, dies; joined agency in 1956

By Del Quentin Wilber,

Charles L. Gittens, the first African American agent in the Secret Service and the former head of the agency’s Washington field office, died July 27 at an assisted living center in Mitchellville after a heart attack. He was 82.

An Army veteran, Mr. Gittens joined the Secret Service in 1956 and was soon posted to its New York field office, where he was part of an elite “special detail” that targeted counterfeiters and other criminals across the country.

(COURTESY OF U.S. SECRET SERVICE) - Charles L. Gittens, who joined the Secret Service in 1956, served as head of the agency’s Washington field office.

Mr. Gittens would go on to protect presidents and became a well-respected supervisor.

“He was a great agent,” said Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service. “When you talk to people who worked with him, the one thing I hear is that he was just a regular guy. . . . A lot of agents, black and white, have benefited from the things he has done. He led by example, and he set the standards for all of us to follow.”

Charles LeRoy Gittens was born Aug. 31, 1928, in Cambridge, Mass. He left high school to join the Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant and was posted in Japan during the Korean War.

He obtained a GED while in the military and, after his discharge, received a bachelor’s degree from what is now North Carolina Central University.

In the 1950s, while teaching at a high school in North Carolina, Mr. Gittens was encouraged by friends to apply for a job in federal law enforcement. After taking a civil service test, he was recruited by the Secret Service.

However, he almost never became an agent because he failed an oral entrance exam, according to a 1974 story in Ebony magazine.

“Can you imagine such a thing?” Mr. Gittens told Ebony. “The guy in charge had scribbled things down like, ‘speaks incoherently’ or ‘can’t be understood.’ Now a Boston accent is a pretty strange thing in Atlanta, Georgia — that much I can assure you. But that was really too much.”

Mr. Gittens implied that the real reason may have been racism. He was then given another test and passed.

Though Mr. Gittens told friends he never felt discrimination from other agents or supervisors, he still faced it on the job. While guarding President Lyndon B. Johnson on a trip to Dallas, he and other agents entered a restaurant, and its manager initially refused to serve him because he was black, according to the Ebony story.

“The other guys were a lot angrier than I was,” Mr. Gittens told the magazine. “But the manager came out and apologized profusely. And we eventually got served.”

Mr. Gittens protected other presidents and stood just a few steps from John F. Kennedy at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1962 when Marilyn Monroe serenaded him with a sultry version of “Happy Birthday.”

In 1971, Mr. Gittens was appointed special agent in charge of the Washington field office, a prestigious posting in which he supervised about 120 agents. Mr. Gittens — a founding member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives — also was tasked in the 1970s by the Secret Service with helping to boost the recruitment of minority and female agents. The Service now has 3,525 agents, of whom 299 are black.

After retiring in 1979, he joined the Justice Department’s Nazi-hunting Office of Special Investigations and became deputy director of the criminal division.

His first marriage, of 28 years, to Ruth Hamme ended in divorce. His 10-year marriage to Maureen Petersen also ended in divorce. Survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Sharon Quick of Washington, and two stepdaughters. .

Mr. Gittens settled in the Washington area in 1971 and moved last year from Fort Washington to Collington Episcopal Life Care Community in Mitchellville.

Although regarded as a Secret Service trailblazer, Mr. Gittens earned respect from agents by hitting the streets. In the mid-1970s, he was monitoring a counterfeiting bust when the suspect suddenly bolted. Mr. Gittens dashed after the man and tackled him, said Ike Hendershot, a retired agent.

“When the other agents finally caught up,” Hendershot said, “they were out of breath.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com

In Memoriam Charles L. Gittens

gittensMemorialNL

Charlie Gittens, the first African American to join the United States Secret Service passed away on July 27th

Charles Gittens - First African American Secret Service agent

A legacy of service: Robert Roy Faison Jr.

The Daily Herald



http://www.rrdailyherald.com

The United States knows Robert Roy Faison Jr. as the first black man assigned permanently to White House Detail.

In Seaboard, the former Coates High School graduate is remembered as a humble but strong man that wasn’t defined simply as the son of hardworking, sharecropping parents.

Known as “Bob” to family and friends, he died June 28 and will be buried next month in Arlington National Cemetery.

A 25-year United States Secret Service veteran who retired with the rank of Inspector, Bob provided personal protection service for United States Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

He retired in 1982, although his love for the Secret Service kept him working as a contractor for 10 more years.

Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service Keith Prewitt said Bob conducted part of his own background investigation. Prewitt described Bob as an outstanding role model and professional who was always easy to speak to and very good at coaching and mentoring.

“He was committed and engaged, but quietly competent,” Prewitt said. “He meant a lot to all of us.”

..... Read More

Gerald S. Blaine, former Secret Service agent and author of “The Kennedy Detail,” published by Simon and Schuster in November, said Bob joined the White House Detail in late 1963 and shared a shift with him.

“We were on the midnight shift when President Kennedy was in Fort Worth the night before the assassination,” Blaine said. “We flew to Austin where the president was to stay at LBJ’s ranch on the night of the 22nd. After the assassination, Bob and I were assigned to LBJ.”

Blaine said the Secret Service White House Detail was very select in approving agents for permanent duty.

Most agents, including Bob, did a 30-day assignment.

“At the end of the assignment, the agents would report any weaknesses in the individual that might preclude him for a permanent assignment,” Blaine said. “Bob was unanimously selected.”

Blaine said Bob’s inclusion on the Secret Service was not embraced by everyone outside the service.

He describes an incident in his book about Bob being requested to stay at another hotel that allowed blacks since the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth did not.

“The agents threatened to move President Kennedy to another hotel if Bob was not allowed to stay,” Blaine said. “The hotel finally allowed Bob to stay.”

Read More

© 2011 Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald. All rights reserved.

Photos:

Robert Roy Faison Jr. is seen at age 21 shortly before heading off to the Korean War. He is a former Seaboard resident and Coates High School graduate

Robert Roy Faison Jr. takes the lead, walking out front of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s car. Faison, who died June 28, will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery next month.

Robert Roy Faison Jr., back left, stands in guard of President John F. Kennedy, third from right, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, center, during a White House event.

The Kennedy Detail's Robert Faison

Robert Roy Faison, 81, of Palm Coast, FL passed away at Stuart F. Meyer Hospice on June 28, 2011. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, July 5th at 11:00 am at Palm Coast United Methodist Church, 5200 Belle Terre Pkwy., Palm Coast.



Bob was a Special Agent with the US Secret Service, he was the first African American permanently assigned to the White House and served during the Kennedy and Johnson administration. Bob traveled to thirty countries while assigned to the White House Detail. He was the third African American Special Agent hired by the Secret Service.



Bob was assigned to the midnight shift in Fort Worth Texas the night before President Kennedy's assassination. The Shift had flown to Austin where they received word the President had been shot. The shift immediately flew to Washington DC and protected President Johnson at his home the night of the assassination.



Bob served his country in the US Army, during the war in Korea. He rose to the rank of Warrant Officer, and was the youngest 1st Sgt. in a combat infantry company. He was awarded the Bronze Star while in Korea.



Bob was commissioned by the Secret Service in 1962 and was assigned to the Washington Field Office. He was assigned to President Kennedy in October 1963 after serving a thirty day temporary assignment on the Detail. He retired from the Secret Service after achieving the rank of Inspector.

He was a member of the Palm Coast United Methodist Church, a fifty year member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, The African American Cultural Society, and the Association of Former Agents of the Secret Service, the NAACP, and the Eagles Golf Club.



Bob will be missed by his fellow agents.

Richard Johnsen, a Kennedy Detail Secret Service Agent, Passed away last week.

Dick was born in California and graduated from the University of California.



He joined the Secret Service in September 1959 and was assigned to the Eisenhower detail. When President Kennedy was sworn in Dick became a member of the Kennedy Detail.

On November 22 nd, Dick was assigned to the 4:00 PM to Midnight shift and was on post at the Trade Center when word came in that the President had been shot. Dick along with his fellow shift members immediately went to Parkland Hospital to assist in securing the hospital and provided assistance on the trip back to Washington D.C.

He remained on the White House Detail through President Ronald Reagan. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Patricia and his son Erick B. Johnsen and his wife Diane and his grand daughter Isabella.



Dick personified the agents assigned to the Kennedy Detail in dedication to his profession and lived by the values of his generation. Dick provided material for "The Kennedy Detail." He will be missed.