Interview at Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

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[The Kennedy Detail] - C-SPAN Video Library

With Payne and Lawson Protecting JFK in Rome

A Brief History Of: The Secret Service

By Alex Altman

An agent looks on as John McCain concedes the presidency to Barack Obama in Phoenix. Christopher Morris / VII for TIME

Abraham Lincoln left to Barack Obama not only an example to emulate but also the sentinels who will safeguard his life. In 1865, on the very day he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, Lincoln green-lighted what would become the U.S. Secret Service, which has been guarding Obama (code-named "Renegade") since May 2007--longer than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history.

The agency's mission has evolved dramatically since its inception under the Treasury Dept. While today more than 3,200 Secret Service members stand ready to sacrifice their lives for the safety of the leader of the free world, the agency's job originally was to stamp out counterfeiting in an era when one out of every three bills in circulation was fake. Though the Secret Service was tasked with guarding President Grover Cleveland's family in the 1890s, presidential security became a formal objective only after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. It wasn't until 1951--after a failed attempt on President Harry Truman's life--that Congress codified the agency's permanent protection of the First Family. Its duties also now include candidates for high office and visiting dignitaries. (See the Top 10 secret service code names.)

Scanning crowds while the President walks a rope line is a given. But agents have also had to respond to unique security challenges--from rigging traffic lights while Truman strolled through Washington to shielding President Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy, from a charging elephant at a pet show on Ethel Kennedy's Virginia estate. While the demeanor (sunglasses, earpieces, constant vigilance) and the danger are what captivate the public, monitoring for fiscal malfeasance is still half the job. In August, the Secret Service helped crack what was heralded as the largest identity-theft ring in U.S. history.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine

Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau Brings Author to live Audiences

Blaine, Gerald Member of JFK's Secret Service Detail Speaking Topics · The Kennedy Detail: JFK’s Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence

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About Blaine, Gerald:

Gerald Blaine had the privilege of serving three U.S. presidents as a Special Agent of the Secret Service on the White House detail. For the first time in his book, The Kennedy Detail: JFK’s Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence, the true story of the events leading up to and following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, from the perspective of the Secret Service agents who were there is revealed.

In The Kennedy Detail, Blaine – one of the thirty-four men in Kennedy’s detail – sets history straight on what really happened that afternoon, as well as in the months leading up to and following the assassination. His account includes contributions from most of the Secret Service agents who were on the Kennedy Detail, and draws upon their daily reports, expense accounts, personal notes, and verbal first-hand accounts. A close-knit brotherhood of agents who collectively suppressed the trauma of that day, the sharing of this story has helped heal their wounds of failure and guilt.

Clint Hill, the agent who jumped on the back of the car after the shooting and pushed Jackie down into the back seat, has not contributed to any books on the assassination, until now. As Hill writes in the Foreword, “I don’t talk to anybody about that day…It is only because of my complete faith and trust that Jerry Blaine would tell our story with dignity and unwavering honesty that I agreed to be involved.”

While The Kennedy Detail adds another volume to one of the most prolifically discussed aspects of our country’s history – between the conspiracy theories and countless revisionist histories – it is the only authoritative account of the events of that day from the men, like Clint Hill, who were there to guard the president’s life. With access to information from this privy vantage point, Blaine is able to disclose a variety of behind-the-scenes stories related to the assassination.

As Blaine writes, “Every man on the Kennedy Detail would re-live those six seconds in Dallas a million times over. For the rest of their lives, they would be defined by the assassination of JFK, questioned and blamed for failing to achieve the impossible.”

After serving for five years with the Secret Service, Blaine resigned following the assassination and later became the Director of Security for the IBM Corporation, and worked there for 27 years. He was then employed by ARCO International oil company and as the Director of Security and Foreign affairs. He has traveled to every country in the world and is very familiar with the issues of the Middle East, former Soviet Union, China, Africa, Asia, terrorism, and international trade and global issues.

Blaine is an experienced speaker and has appeared before audiences of thousands. He has addressed the International Association of chiefs of Police, International Security Managers association, and various other security associations. In his capacity as an Industry Marketing Consultant for IBM, he spoke to many customer executive groups from the law enforcement, Intelligence and judicial community. He retired in 2003 and now lives in Colorado with his wife of more than fifty years.

Secret Service Photo Gallery

Reuters Pictures

Secret Service agents trail U.S. President Barack Obama (3rd R) and his family - wife Michelle (4th R) and daughters Malia (2nd R) and Sasha (R) - as they walk home after a Sunday morning worship service in Washington

Thank You ...

Dear Mr. Blaine,

I just finished reading The Kennedy Detail, and I wanted to thank you and Mr. Hill and your other agent friends for setting the record straight. I was only 7 when the President died, but I still remember the day, and I've read and seen a lot of the theory stuff over the years.

You have done a great service to Mr. Kennedy's memory to provide many insights into the last few weeks of his presidency.
He always seemed like a very intelligent leader to me, but I always had a feeling he was also a great guy. You helped honor some of that side of him.

I have great admiration for the silence you kept for all these years, until all the brothers and Mrs. Kennedy had long passed. But you were right in deciding to share the truth about those days, and you and the other agents knew many things that should not be lost to history. I hope your book will stand as one of the main sources of reference for many years to come.

PS: My dad was an IBM salesman for 35 years and he's anxious to read the book now, too!

Best of luck,


Dave Jarvis
Oneida Castle, NY

With Art Blake

Your Excellent Book ...

Dear Mr. Blaine,

I just finished reading The Kennedy Detail, and I wanted to thank you and Mr. Hill and your other agent friends for setting the record straight. I was only 7 when the President died, but I still remember the day, and I've read and seen a lot of the theory stuff over the years.

You have done a great service to Mr. Kennedy's memory to provide many insights into the last few weeks of his presidency. He always seemed like a very intelligent leader to me, but I always had a feeling he was also a great guy. You helped honor some of that side of him.

I have great admiration for the silence you kept for all these years, until all the brothers and Mrs. Kennedy had long passed. But you were right in deciding to share the truth about those days, and you and the other agents knew many things that should not be lost to history. I hope your book will stand as one of the main sources of reference for many years to come.

PS: My dad was an IBM salesman for 35 years and he's anxious to read the book now, too!

Best of luck,

Dave Jarvis
Oneida Castle, NY

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.








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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

Secret Service Photo Gallery

Reuters Pictures

A Secret Service officer patrols the grounds of the White House after a man jumped the fence along the North Lawn, in Washington

Revisiting the JFK assassination: Gerald Blaine & Clint Hill discuss 'The Kennedy Detail'

Hartford / Arts & Entertainment / Books

John Valeri

Hartford Books Examiner

Blaine was hired as Special Agent of the United States Secret Service in 1959, and was handpicked to serve on the elite White House Secret Service Detail—one of thirty-four men responsible for protecting then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Upon John F. Kennedy’s election in November of 1960, Blaine was immediately transferred to the President-elect detail, and spent the next three years traveling with Kennedy. Immediately following JKF’s assassination, the Kennedy detail became the Johnson detail, which Blaine remained a part of until resigning from the Secret Service on July 4, 1964. He then embarked on a career path as an expert in high-level corporate security, retiring in 2003. Hill was the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of Mrs. Kennedy’s security detail, and remained with her until after the 1964 presidential election, at which time he joined Johnson’s team. In 1967, Hill became the SAIC of Presidential protection. Ultimately, he was assigned to headquarters as the Assistant Director of the Secret Service before retiring in 1975. Readers will remember Hill as the agent who climbed aboard the presidential limousine as the motorcade came under fire. In December of 1963, he was presented with a gold medal and a citation for “exceptional bravery” during those tragic moments. The Kennedy Detail synopsis: THE SECRET SERVICE. An elite team of men who share a single mission: to protect the president of the United States. On November 22, 1963, these men failed—and a country would never be the same. Now, for the first time, a member of JFK’s Secret Service detail reveals the inside story of the assassination, the weeks and days that led to it and its heartrending aftermath. This extraordinary book is a moving, intimate portrait of dedication, courage, and loss. Drawing on the memories of his fellow agents, Jerry Blaine captures the energetic, crowd-loving young president, who banned agents from his car and often plunged into raucous crowds with little warning. He describes the careful planning that went into JFK’s Texas swing, the worries and concerns that agents, working long hours with little food or rest, had during the trip. And he describes the intensely private first lady making her first-ever political appearance with her husband, just months after losing a newborn baby. Here are vivid scenes that could come only from inside the Kennedy detail: JFK’s last words to his tearful son when he left Washington for the last time; how a sudden change of weather led to the choice of the open-air convertible limousine that day; Mrs. Kennedy standing blood-soaked outside a Dallas hospital room; the sudden interruption of six-year-old Caroline’s long-anticipated sleepover with a friend at home; the exhausted team of agents immediately reacting to the president’s death with a shift to LBJ and other key governmental figures; the agents’ dismay at Jackie’s decision to walk openly from the White House to St. Matthew’s Cathedral at the state funeral. Most of all, this is a look into the lives of men who devoted their entire beings to protecting the presidential family: the stress of the secrecy they kept, the emotional bonds that developed, the terrible impact on agents’ psyches and families, and their astonishment at the country’s obsession with far-fetched conspiracy theories and finger-pointing. A book fifty years in coming, The Kennedy Detail is a portrait of incredible camaraderie and incredible heartbreak—a true, must-read story of heroism in its most complex and human form. Now, Gerald Blaine and Clint Hill share their reflections on President Kennedy’s life and death—and on that fateful day in Dallas, which forever changed the course of history...

Gerald Blaine: 1) Forty-seven years have passed since the assassination of President Kennedy. What made you decide that it was time to write this book? Did you find the process to be cathartic or was it painful to revisit the events of 1963?

The purpose was to set the record straight. There are not many of us left now and we are all elderly. It was the one issue in my life that I had never been able to resolve emotionally. I was satisfied with the Warren Commission findings and when I saw the movie "JFK" by Oliver Stone, which was a combo of every conspiracy theory, I decided to move on with my life and forget the theorists. I have been in International Security and worked every country in the world. I have had close calls and seen tragic bloodshed during fundamentalist wars, but the assassination was still yet to be resolved. When I retired I looked at the Internet and discovered that history was being kidnapped by a "Cottage Industry" called conspiracy theory. This prompted me because fellow "Kennedy Detail" agents who have passed on were accused of being a part of a conspiracy or derelict in their duties all the way to actually shooting the President himself. This called for clarification. I contacted the agents and had a 90% response. Clint Hill, who was deeply impacted by the assassination, and is a friend, finally agreed to release the torment he lived with. We discussed the format, which was to be factual with no "Gossip" or "insider" information, which was the commitment I gave everyone who contributed. In the process it was both painful and healing. I had a difficult time asking questions that I knew were painful to answer on the part of other agents. In the end, we finally had a reunion of agents who had never discussed the assassination with each other. This was recorded by the Discovery Channel, which will be aired on November 22 this year. (Note: This braodcast has been resheduled for December 2nd.) The experience was healing for everyone.

2) Reflection often reveals a fresh perspective. Did you have any such revelations while writing THE KENNEDY DETAIL? What has been the response from the other agents who have contributed to the book?

The response has been overwhelmingly favorable. Clint, Lisa McCubbin and I had lunch with the Director of the Secret Service and his staff. He felt it was a book that every agent should read because it was the event that has developed the Secret Service into the organization it is today. I have received e-mails from numerous agents and from countries around the world.

3) You have come to the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole assassin. What do you find to be the strongest evidence of his guilt? Do you have an opinion as to why the majority of Americans continue to believe that JFK was killed as the result of a conspiracy?

It is difficult for a person to believe that a lone individual can take the life of such a dynamic person. To the citizen on the street it has to be much bigger than that. Suddenly people were blaming factions they personally disliked and conspiracy theory went ballistic. It was the left wing, or the right wing, Cuba, Russia, organized crime, government leaders, the new president, FBI, CIA Secret Service, etc. The reality of a conspiracy is that they seldom last 60 days before they are uncovered. In this case it has been 47 years and not one shred of evidence has been presented that indicated a conspiracy. Lee Harvey Oswald was the perfect profile of an assassin. He had psychiatric problems and family instability as a youth. He failed at everything he attempted. He even failed at defecting and returned to the US. He could not carry on a five minute conversation without alienating the person he was talking to. The rifle that Oswald used to kill President Kennedy was also used in a failed attempt to shoot General Walker, a right wing activist in Dallas. Once the shots were fired at President Kennedy, Oswald shot a police officer that was not necessary for his escape, but to be sure he would be caught for the recognition he so desperately needed. He then ran into a movie house without buying a ticket and when approached by officers he pulled a gun. Unfortunately he did not gain the recognition for long since he was killed by Jack Ruby. The only thing missing was the Secret Service had no knowledge of Oswald.

4) The country was forever changed on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. What were the ramifications of President Kennedy’s assassination? Do you believe that there is the potential to emerge from the darkness of that day? If so, how?

It was our generation's 9/11, and the end of innocence.The small evolution of rebellion that began in the late 50's mushroomed during the 60's and created the individuals who in succession killed Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and an attempt on George Wallace which paralyzed him. Every President since that time has been confronted with threats and attempts. Today's environment is even worse which is why the Secret Service has grown from 300 agents in 1963 to 3,599 agents today. The only way we can clear our thinking is to accept the fact that assassinations are committed by sociopath individuals or by a small group of radicals. A large number of conspiracy theorists end up trying to destroy their enemies by accusing them of being a part of a conspiracy and in the process they make skeptics of our youth and create extreme diversity in our society. If that is not corrected, I doubt if the country could survive another assassination.

5) So much attention is paid to President Kennedy’s death that his accomplishments in life are often overlooked. What do you believe should be JFK’s true legacy?

He was a dynamic leader who tackled a number of tough issues. His first three years were tied up in cold war issues and he stood his ground in the Cuban Missile Crisis. His next effort was to focus on Civil Rights. The JFK Museum in Boston highlights his efforts. The exhibit on the assassination is a short video clip on Walter Cronkite and a statement that says President Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman in Dallas, Texas, who fired three shots.

Clint Hill: 1) With rare exception, you have remained largely silent since the assassination of President Kennedy. What made you decide to contribute to THE KENNEDY DETAIL? Did you find the process to be cathartic or was it painful to revisit the events of 1963?

When Jerry Blaine contacted me about his writing a book about The Kennedy Detail, I was less than enthusiastic. In fact, I was very apprehensive. I had previously been offered many opportunities to contribute to books or to write a book of my own. I refused. Jerry and I had long conversations about his proposed book. When he promised there would be no salacious material, no gossip, only facts based on agent interviews and document examination. I then asked to be allowed to check the manuscript for facts before it was published. Jerry agreed to this and I agreed to contribute. I subsequently was interviewed at length by Lisa McCubbin, who had interviewed other agents. She then put our words to paper and the book "The Kennedy Detail" is the result.

2) You were Mrs. Kennedy’s SAIC and accompanied her to Texas. What was her frame of mind as she embarked on her first domestic political trip? How did your relationship with Mrs. Kennedy change after Dallas?

Mrs. Kennedy was very excited and enthusiastic about the trip to Texas. This was her first trip of a political nature outside of the Washington area since the election in 1960. Her activities in 1960 were somewhat curtailed because she was pregnant. She was very happy to be able to help her husband in his effort to gain re-election in 1964. Our relationship, after Dallas, continued on a very personal, but professional level. She was very self sufficient but sought me out to discuss various personal problems. We became somewhat closer because I was the familiar face among the many changes. I was always there.

3) You agree with the Warren Commission’s assessment that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole assassin. What do you find to be the strongest evidence of his guilt? Do you have an opinion as to why the majority of Americans continue to believe that JFK was killed as the result of a conspiracy?

There were many things that led me to believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. He had access. He had used the alias A J. Hidell. An identification card with that name was found on him at the time of arrest. This alias had been used to purchase a rifle in March 1963. He used a post office address with that alias. The rifle was found on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository near the sniper's nest. His personality profile fit that of a potential assassin. Americans have a very difficult time believing one person, alone, could accomplish the assassination of the President of the United States. We know that most assassinations are carried out by one person, alone.

4) The country was forever changed on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. What were the ramifications of President Kennedy’s assassination? Do you believe that there is the potential to emerge from the darkness of that day? If so, how?

It was the end of the age of innocence. I believe subsequent assassinations and attempts can be directly attributed to this November 22, 1963, event. The assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and the attempts on George Wallace, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan were all attempted because of the success of Oswald. The assassination in 1963 made everyone less trustful of the government as well as of our fellow man.

5) So much attention is paid to President Kennedy’s death that his accomplishments in life are often overlooked. What do you believe should be JFK’s true legacy?

President Kennedy had both success and failure. The Bay of Pigs Invasion and the failure to get a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty were two examples of failure. Success came in the way he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis; the attempt to settle the cold war with Khrushchev; the establishment of the Peace Corps; the Alliance for Progress in Latin America in an attempt to control Communism; his commitment to space exploration and to put a man on the moon; and finally the passage of the Civil Rights Act which occurred after he was assassinated but can be directly attributed to him.


*** With thanks to Gerald Blaine and Clint Hill for generously sharing their time and thoughts, and to Penny C. Sansevieri for facilitating these interviews.

In Memoriam Charles L. Gittens

gittensMemorialNL

Library Journal: Q & A

By Karl Helicher

It has taken 47 years, but this anniversary month of the assassination of President Kennedy brings readers The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence, the first book on the assassination written by a member of Kennedy's secret service detail. Gerald Blaine, one of 34 members of the White House Secret Service Detail, was on the Texas trip, but not on the Dallas stop. His book is about the fatal trip to Texas from the perspective of the agents who were there to protect him. Veteran LJ reviewer Karl Helicher interviewed the author.—Margaret Heilbrun

Why did you wait almost half a century to write this book?

I left the Secret Service in July 1964 after serving five years on the White House Detail. After the assassination, I felt it was time for a change and went into the private sector. I maintained the code of silence throughout my career with IBM, ARCO International, and Hill and Associates, a security firm out of Hong Kong.

When I retired, there was one issue that I could not resolve in my mind and in my emotions: that was President Kennedy's assassination. I started reading the various entries on the Internet and reading assassination conspiracy books. As I did, I could not believe how conspiracy had turned into a cottage industry that had developed theories that ranged from implausible to outright lies. Like every agent, I had saved my advance reports, daily reports, expense vouchers, and investigations. I immediately started contacting agents.

What incensed me most was the fact that the theories would be accepted as historic fact and that some of the theories accused agents of being members of a conspiracy, being incompetent and, in a couple of cases, accused agents of shooting the President. This was no longer an attack on the Secret Service as an institution; this was slander toward individual agents who were no longer alive to defend themselves. The agents on the Kennedy Detail agreed that it was time to reveal the background based on fact.

How many of the 34 agents of the Kennedy Detail were you able to contact? And were they supportive?

The support was overwhelming. I contacted 70 agents or descendants of agents who were deceased who had served President Kennedy during his administration. I had a 90 percent response from those who have survived and the widows or children of deceased agents. Three agents were not contacted. These were agents who had responded to Seymour Hirsch's book The Dark Side of Camelot, which violated the code of silence. In the months following the assassination, I had discussed some of the official inquiry aspects with some of the agents. Plus, there were many memorandums and statements that were required, but never did any agent discuss the emotional aspects until this book was written. Three agents still cannot discuss the emotional aspects of that day in Dallas. I have not been able to contact three other agents who served.

Unfortunately, the men who served on the Kennedy Detail are getting fewer and fewer. Just this week I learned that another agent who had contributed to the book, Dick Johnsen, had passed away. I realized that if we didn't tell our story now, it would be lost forever. It was the last opportunity we had to present the facts according to the people who lived it, so that we can provide a balance to the alleged 81 percent of young Americans, 18 to 29, who, according to USA Today, believe in a conspiracy.

So much of the information revealed will be new to the reader because it tells how the agents experienced the JFK assassination. Would you please describe how the agents broke the news to John and Caroline Kennedy? Would you also comment on how close Agent Clint Hill became with Jackie Kennedy, whom he was responsible for protecting?

The agents did not inform the children. No one is sure whether it was Maude Shaw, their nanny; Mrs. Kennedy; or her mother, Mrs. Auchincloss, who was living in Washington, DC, at the time. The children's agents-Bob Foster, Lynn Meredith, and Tom Wells-filled the emotional response with support and concern.

Special Agent Bob Foster took John-John into an ante room when he became restless at the Capitol Rotunda during Mrs. Kennedy's appearance at the public viewing. Special Agent Tom Wells, standing near the door, heard John-John ask what happened to his daddy. He saw Bob kneel down to where he was face to face with John-John. Tom did not hear his response, and Bob Foster has passed on without revealing his response.

Clint always addressed the President's wife as Mrs. Kennedy, and she responded by addressing him as Mr. Hill, but they were very dependent on each other. Clint became a sounding board for Mrs. Kennedy in trying to resolve staff issues or in explaining agendas. Her appreciation of Clint and the children's agents was demonstrated when she requested of the treasury secretary that the agents remain with her and the children for the year after the assassination. The year became a very emotional one. Not only were the agents unable to deal with their own emotional trauma from the assassination, but they lived the year mourning with the Kennedy family.

You conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman who fired all three shots. Are you as convinced that Oswald was not part of a conspiracy to murder the President?

Yes, and that is the consensus of the other agents. Lee Harvey Oswald fit the profile of a potential assassin to a tee. In his youth he was troubled, and it was determined that he had psychotic tendencies. There was no stability in his family life, and his entire adult life, filled with upheaval, and frustration, drove him to a dying need for recognition. Just before the assassination, he used the same rifle to try and shoot Gen. Edwin Walker, a right-wing group leader, through a window as the general worked at his desk. One of the sociopathic symptoms was that Oswald could not carry on a conversation with anyone without demonstrating hostility or being provoking. That is not the type of individual who can work with accomplices. All of these facts were confirmed by his widow to the agents who protected her for the months following the assassination.

The fact that not one other theory has been proven in the past 47 years is good evidence that there was no one else involved. Criminal investigators know that conspiracies usually unfold in due time, sooner rather than later, for many reasons. That time frame has long passed.

What emotions did you experience as you wrote and completed the book?

I experienced the same emotions as every agent who served with President Kennedy. Virtually every agent , including myself, carried the emotional impact of failure, guilt, and shame. This included agents, like me, who were not in Dallas. I was supposed to go to Dallas to assist Win Lawson, who was responsible for the advance, but by a set of circumstances, I rejoined my regular shift. After the assassination, no agent ever discussed the emotional impact that the event had on them. We remained silent and continued with our lives.

Writing the book felt like an emotional roller coaster for me. I was almost panicked that the story would not be told. The families of the deceased described the torment their loved ones felt over the assassination and were happy I was delivering their message. I was not alone. Then in one telephone call it was suggested that we have a reunion. This reunion was filmed for the Discovery Channel. It was an emotional outpouring that resulted in healing something that had been festering for 47 years. We, the members of the Kennedy Detail, never lost contact with one another. I am the sole surviving charter member of the Former Agents Association of the United States Secret Service and a past president of the organization. The organization, which was founded by members of the Kennedy Detail, now has 2500 members.

Could you recommend a book that you are reading now? It doesn't have to be about the assassination.

The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking is on my bed stand. The next three months will be a challenge to complete it, but my curiosity usually wins out.

This article originally appeared in the newsletter BookSmack! Click here to subscribe.

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

Interview at the 33rd Annual National Press Club Book Fair and Authors' Night ...

A fundraiser for the Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library and The SEED Foundation held Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Watch Video Here

[The Kennedy Detail] - C-SPAN Video Library