Agents Say JFK Assassination Transformed Secret Service
November 19, 2013
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, stunned the world. President Kennedy’s death put the Secret Service on the defensive. It's the organization that protects the president and his family. In conversations with several former Secret Service agents, The assassination, and later attempts on Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, led to changes in how the President and first family are safeguarded.
On November 22, 1963, when shots rang out in Dallas, Secret Service Agent Clint Hill was in the best position to react. His analysis of that day is simple.
“There’s no question that we failed in providing protection to President Kennedy," said Hill.
Agent Gerald Blaine, also in Texas that day, but not in Dallas. He says a lack of manpower was partly responsible.
“In 1963 we had 330 agents, and we had about 34 agents on the White House detail," said Blaine.
The agents were visible. Some ran alongside or stood on cars in the presidential motorcade. But Blaine says they couldn't communicate with each other.
“We didn’t have radios. We operated through hand signals. We had photographs of subjects that we had concerns about, and we would memorize those subjects. We had to rely on each other to work together as a team," he said.
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