Former Secret Service agent: Betty Ford looked after us

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The Associated Press

GRAND RAPIDS — An ex-Secret Service agent says former First Lady Betty Ford was like “a mother” to him and his colleagues.

Mike Shannon signed a condolence book for Ford at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. He was among many who came to express their sympathy to the Ford family after Betty Ford's death in California on Friday.

Shannon told WOOD-TV that he protected the Fords, and Betty Ford was always concerned about the agents and their families. He says she once sent him home with a bag of oranges for his wife.

The museum says its lobby will be open around the clock until further notice so people can sign the book.

Her body will be sent to Michigan for burial at the museum alongside her husband.

http://www.thetimesherald.com

Thank you for writing the book ...

Dear Mr. Blaine:

Thank you so much for writing the book and sharing.

I was in Mrs. Smiths’, 4th grade classroom on the South Side of Pittsburgh. I remember the smell of the classroom, the sound of the rubber tip of the teacher’s pointer on the pull down map; I can still see tears running down the faces of my classmates and teachers, I remember the tightness in my chest and the inability to swallow. As I was reading your book, I recalled the voice of Walter Cronkite announcing the time of death of President Kennedy.

After school, we still drove to Youngstown, Ohio to spend the weekend with family. Seven of us remained glued to the TV for the next four days. None of us understood why we lost a president that day. No explanations were sufficient.

Thank you for writing the book and answering questions that have remained unanswered since 1963. I understand more now.

Thank you to all the Secret Service agents who have served our Presidents.


My best regards,



Michelle Z

Unpublished Photos from JFK's Election

Paul Schutzer / TIME & LIFE Pictures



































During a speech before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, Kennedy famously told the largely skeptical gathering, "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party candidate for President who also happens to be a Catholic."

Kennedy on the stump, October 1960.

Cop tracks down presidential limo's seal

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Magnetism is the only thing that keeps the presidential seal on the president's limousine.


The round, gold-trimmed presidential seal is an impressive symbol affixed to the door of the limousine known as "The Beast." It appears to be a permanent part of the limo. But in reality, it's a magnetic seal that comes on and off, vulnerable to wind and elements just like anything we'd put on our own cars. And Thursday night, the seal came off during President Obama's motorcade to the airport after his fundraising visit to Philadelphia, ending up alongside Interstate 76. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said agents and Philadelphia police returned to the area off the freeway that night and looked for it, but were unable to find it in the dark. But the next day, a Philadelphia police officer found it on the side of the road. The Philadelphia Daily News reports the officer had been part of the motorcade the night before and was helping a disabled car when he spotted it. It was brought to the Secret Service field office and is being returned to Washington. "It happens periodically," Donovan said. "They're only magnetic. They're not put on any special way."

Secret Service created July 5, 1865

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By: Scott McCabe | Examiner Staff Writer Follow Him @Scott_McCabe |

On this day, July 5, 1865, the U.S. Secret Service was created in Washington to arrest counterfeiters.

During President Lincoln's administration, more than a third of the nation's money was counterfeit. On April 14, 1965, the day he would be assassinated, Lincoln established a commission to stop the counterfeiting problem.

The Secret Service evolved into the country's first domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency. After the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, Congress informally requested that the Secret Service provide presidential protection. In 1902, William Craig became the first agent to be killed riding in the presidential carriage. Now, there are more than 3,200 Secret Service agents.

-Scott McCabe

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.

Happy Fourth of July!