Youngblood - 20 years in the secret service: my life with five presidents

ENDORSEMENTS

I have enjoyed Mr. Youngbloods book immensely, as I know personally so many people of whom he writes. This is an excellent description of the dutiesboth personal and officialof the Secret Service, and I am a great admirer of their organization.

Mamie Doud Eisenhower
(Original endorsement from first edition in 1973)

This is an insiders book simply because there is no one more inside the public and private personalities of top government executives than Rufus Youngblood. His matchless description of the senseless murder of President Kennedy in Dallas could be written only by someone like Youngblood. I was there in Dallas, but like so many others, I saw fragments. Rufus saw it all and lived every horrible minute. And his portrait of LBJ, strong leader, great heart, large warts, is history stuff. Its a simple book about complex men and absorbing events. Funny thing, I never knew Rufe could write this well, which shows the Secret Service is pretty good at keeping secrets about themselves as well as presidents.

Jack Valenti, 1973
President, Motion Picture Association
Former Special Assistant to President Johnson
(Original endorsement from first edition in 1973)

______

After all that happened in Dallas, our father trusted Rufus completely. They shared a special connection. No question, Daddy was a difficult taskmaster. Not wanting to be bridled, he often rushed into crowds not wanting to follow Secret Service requests. Rufus knew how to work with him. I never saw any breakdown in trust on either side. All of our family respected and loved Rufus.

Lynda Johnson Robb

Rufus was a patriot and a friend. He was an elegant gentleman who put his country first and did his duty always. We loved him dearly. His story is a noble one that deserves being shared.

Luci Baines Johnson

I began working in the U.S. Secret Service in 1955, during President Eisenhowers term, and I worked with Rufe. Over the years, I saw his leadership help modernize the Secret Service. He was a great asset to the agency and a great man to work with.

Herbert C. Dixon
Former SAIC of the Eisenhower Protective Detail

During my career in the U.S. Secret Service, I worked very closely with and for Rufus Youngblood. During these years, I was always impressed with his work ethic and devotion to duty. I am proud to have worked with such a man and to have been his friend. He was truly an agent who lived up to the Secret Service code as Worthy of Trust and Confidence.

Paul Rundle
Special Agent USSS 19581978

Im pleased to be asked to recall the friendship and contributions of Rufus Youngblood, whom I knew as an outstanding symbol of the United States Secret Service. I was a member of the White House Press Corps, so for a long time I had the pleasure of seeing or talking to Rufus and observing his dedication to duty. He was always pleasant, yet always a Secret Service agent fully occupied with the assignment at hand. Rufuss bravery during the tragic events in Dallas was not surprising. His trained reflexes took over at the sound of gunfire. He never lost his sense of duty to country nor worried about his own safety.

Sid Davis
Former White House Correspondent

It was my genuine honor to have known Rufus. When I arrived at the White House in 1965 as a very young (twenty-three-year-old) presidential aide, Rufus already had become somewhat of a legend because of the publicity surrounding his heroic actions in Dallas. We both had personal family roots in Macon, Georgia, and became good friends over the years. I saw Rufus catch hell from President Johnsonat times when he did not deserve it. I also saw Rufus standing duty in rain, in snow, in stormsnever asking more of the agents who worked under him than he did of himself. I saw him splattered with red paint from anti-war protestors in Australia. The life and times of a true American hero are captured magnificently within the pages of this book.

Tom Johnson
Former Special Assistant to the President
Publisher and CEO, Los Angeles Times
Chairman and CEO, Cable News Network
Chairman-emeritus, LBJ Presidential Foundation

The authors have tried to recreate events, locations, and conversations from their memories of them. In some instances, in order to maintain their anonymity, the authors may have changed the names of individuals and places. The authors may also have changed some identifying characteristics and details such as physical attributes, occupations, and places of residence.

Copyright 2018 by Rebecca Youngblood Vaughn

Second Edition

First Edition 1973, Second Edition 2018, First Edition Rufus W. Youngblood

All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be reproduced or shared in any form whatsoever by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email without prior written permission from RW/PD Youngblood, LLC.

eISBN: 978-1-948638-89-0

Front cover image Yoichi Okamoto

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Published by

Fideli Publishing, Inc.

www.FideliPublishing.com

www.rufusyoungblood.com

This book is dedicated to:

my wife and my children, Peggy, Joy, Mark, Candy, Rebecca;

my sister, Ann;

my former secretary, Mrs. Nancy Rocheleau;

my friend and colleague Clarence Knetsch, who lost his life in a Texas flash flood while helping others;

and to my many associates in the Secret Service, those who never lost sight of the mission...

Contents

Foreword

by Clint Hill

I entered the U.S. Secret Service in Denver, Colorado, in 1958. During my first year of service I was required to spend a thirty-day temporary assignment on the White House Detail. President Eisenhower decided to go to the Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia, and I, with the other members of the White House Detail, accompanied him. Augusta was in the Atlanta Secret Service office jurisdiction, so they sent an experienced agent to assist, working with local authorities and helping the detail as needed.

The agents on the detail had a habit of eating breakfast at a cafeteria near the hotel we used. I, a very junior agent, went along and stood in the cafeteria line to select my food. There was a white substance available, which I assumed was Cream of Wheat, a staple in North Dakota, my home state. I happened to say that out loud with a sense of joy, and the agent behind me said, Son, that is not Cream of Wheat. Those are grits. Youll love em. That was my introduction to Rufus Youngblood, a Southerner through and through, and very proud of it.

While I was working on a White House Detail shift, traveling with President Eisenhower, Agent Youngbloods talents were being recognized by the assignments he received, including making advance arrangements for the president. He was highly regarded by the officials of the Secret Service and by the president and his staff as well. Agent Youngbloods attention to detail, making sure every i was dotted and every t was crossed, leaving no room for error or misunderstanding, was a lesson for all of us with less experience. We learned on the job, and the better the senior agent, the more you learned. Youngblood was considered one of the best.