Secret Service Agent Jerry Blaine & The AFAUSSS

note: no malice or misrepresentation intended or infered. Just exercising my, ahem, First Amendment Rights. Thanks for letting me know I had some, Mr. Bratton :O)


Former Secret Service agent Jerry Blaine (who seems like a very nice gentleman from the two conversations I had with him [2/7/04, 6/10/05], not to mention several e-mails [6/12/05, 6/13/05, 7/9/05, 7/11/05], as well), who served from Ike to LBJ, is coming out with a book, co-authored by Lisa McCubbin, in the Fall of this year (2010) entitled "The Kennedy Detail." Sounds terrific...then again, I was also a fan of O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It."

Jerry Blaine seems like a very good man with impeccable pedigree and credentials: my ire is NOT directed at him, per se; he wasn't in Dallas when President Kennedy got his head blown off while his inept colleagues watched and did nothing of value to prevent the assassination (hey, even the Warren Commission castigated the Secret Service, as did the HSCA in the 1970's, albeit a tad milder, and in less detail, than I do). Keeping in mind the title of O.J. Simpson's book, a friend told me a good title for a JFK era Secret Service memoir should be "We Did It, Now Let's Blame JFK & The Staff"! Or, as an alternate title, "We Didn't Prevent It But We'll Sure Blame Ya For It."

For the record, because Mr. Blaine had his attorney send me a certified letter on the matter, I had 0.0 to do with Jerry Blaine and Lisa Mccubbin's book-as I told Blaine's attorney, Richard Bratton: "I meant, in no way, shape, or form, to misconstrue anyone that somehow I was involved. Again, I am very sorry. I merely "cut and paste" Lisa's blog onto my own to, once again, enthusiastically advertise the book to the world." As Mr. Bratton stated: "this is their book, not yours."

Gee, thanks for the clarification.

Seems this tacky tactic had backfired in a huge way (I have thousands of fans and my work has literally been seen---and continues to be seen---by millions via the History Channel, You Tube, radio, newspapers, 50+ books by other authors, the internet, etc. I get e-mails from around the globe, including from former agents, family members, relatives, friends, etc.): many people were turned off to this and also stated the obvious- an example to summarize: "gee, Vince, over a little &^%* blog he sent that? My God, there are millions of blogs with defamatory, awful misstatements of fact and no one gets flack for those." I will forever be a thorn in the side of those who attempt to blame the President or his staff for their own shortcomings; you can count on that.


What it boils down to it this: on 6/2/05, I sent a 22 page letter (Certified, Return Receipt Requested with a S.A.S.E. to boot), summarizing my work (especially chapter one of my book "Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President") to former agent Clint Hill...

By the way, Clint Hill is writing the Foreword to Blaine's book...

On 6/13/05, after not receiving a reply, the author phoned Mr. Hill, who was quite apparently angry---he answered "Hill residence" and at first pretended not to know about the lengthy letter he had to sign for (of which the author received his signed receipt): “About what?,” Hill exclaimed in response to the author’s inquiry. He then became totally quiet. I asked him if he was still there. Then, forcefully, Hill added: “I'm still here, I’m just not interested in talking to you.”

Oh, well, you know the old saying: truth hurts. :O)

I spoke to Mr. Blaine on 6/10/05...


It is just, ahem, a coincidence that his book, "The Kennedy Detail" is coming out this Fall. I believe in coincidences...hey, coincidences happen.


:O)

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Mr. Blaine told me himself and fellow former agent Walt Coughlin “both had oil interests in Yemen” (Coughlin works for Hunt Oil, as well).

Agent Jerry O’Rourke was part of the shift consisting of ATSAIC Arthur L. Godfrey-shift leader, SA Gerald S. Blaine, SA Kenneth S. Giannoules, SA Paul A. Burns, and SA Robert R. Faison. This group of men arrived in Fort Worth from Washington, D.C. at 2:15 p.m. on 11/21/63 for duty at the Hotel Texas as part of the 4p.m.-12 min shift (JFK arrived 11:50 p.m., ten minutes until midnight). After having helped protect the President during the morning of 11/22/63 in Fort Worth (as part of the 12 Midnight to 8 a.m. shift), this coterie of agents proceeded on to Austin for JFK’s proposed stop after his Dallas trip. Blaine went on to become a member of the Overseas Security Advisory Council---OSAC---for the U.S. Department of State, in his capacity as the OSAC Private Sector Representative representing the IBM Corporation and, later, as the Director of International Security for the ARCO International Oil and Gas Company.

Blaine also told the author: “Paul Rundle [ATSAIC of V.P. LBJ Detail ] and I went to high school together and served in the Korean War together.” The former agent stated that he had started in the Denver office of the Secret Service and later served on the WHD for six years under Eisenhower, JFK, and LBJ, leaving in July 1964 to become director of security for IBM (“The White House Detail was a blackball system. There were 34 or 36 agents assigned to the WHD with 5 people per shift. You got 15% of a GS9 for overtime: 10 cents an hour! Six years of protection----you lose contact with the outside world. It was time for a change,” Blaine said.) The former agent now works for OSAC (see Burke, below). Blaine confirmed that he was not contacted by the HSCA. Blaine would not respond to a follow-up letter. However, the former agent was responsive and friendly when the author phoned on 6/10/05. Blaine said, among other things, that “The Secret Service learned so much from the assassination” and “The Warren Commission did a great job” (!) Blaine did add a more surprising detail: “I was supposed to go from Tampa to Dallas [on 11/18/63]”, stating further that the agent who went in his place, David Grant, was dating Clint Hill’s wife’s sister at the time---she was working for Braniff Airlines then (the two went on to be married, thus making Hill and Grant brothers-in-law). In fact, Blaine had just spoken to Hill on 6/9/05, shortly after---unbeknownst to Blaine---the author had contacted Hill via Registered Mail. Blaine is close to Hill---he attended Hill’s son’s wedding, along with fellow former agent Bill Livingood. The former agent also expounded on his IBM career, stating he served for 27 years as the director of security.
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Gerald S. Blaine (started in the Denver office; Member of Inauguration Detail for JFK, 1/20/61; WHD: Ike to LBJ/ 1964; left to work for IBM: became director of security; interviewed for Manchester's book "The Death of a President" 5/12/65; a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969; pictured on page 79 of AFAUSSS book from 1991 [Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service. Looking Back And Seeing The Future: The United States Secret Service 1865-1990. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company, 1991]; now the Director of International Security Company for ARCO International Oil & Gas [like Burke, Blaine is part of The Overseas Security Advisory Council and the U.S. Department of State])

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http://www.oldstar.org/
http://forums.leoaffairs.com/viewforum.php
THE AFAUSSS-Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service:

ASAIC Floyd M Boring: founded the Association of Former Agents of the Secret Service in 1969;

SAIC Gerald Behn: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969; attended third annual AFAUSS conference in Alexandria, VA, 9/27-9/28/74;

SA Jerry Blaine: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969;

Former Chief U.E. Baughman: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969; attended AFAUSS conference in 1973

SAIC of PRS Robert Bouck: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969; attended third annual AFAUSS conference in Alexandria, VA, 9/27-9/28/74

Paul J. Paterni: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969

Frank Stoner (PRS) : a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969; attended third annual AFAUSS conference in Alexandria, VA, 9/27-9/28/74

Chief Inspector Michael Torina: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969; attended AFAUSS conference in 1973

Deputy Chief Ed Wildy: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969

ATSAIC Stu Stout: a charter member of the AFAUSSS in 1969

ATSAIC Art Godfrey: He served in the Army in Europe during World War II, and his decorations included a Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He received the Silver Star for rescuing a soldier and carrying him back to friendly lines in Italy while under enemy fire; MSU graduate; member of WHD Truman to Nixon; a recipient of the Treasury Department's Albert Gallatin Award ;took part in Secret Service school # 8 in January 1956; retired July 1974; mentioned in McNally's book, p. 120; pictured on pages 62, 66, 67 & 102 of AFAUSSS book from 1991; p. 176 of Darwin Horn’s book; interviewed for “The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon” by Anthony Summers (Penguin USA, 2001), including picture; the official photographer for the AFAUSSS; deceased 5/12/02
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http://barnley.blogspot.com/2005/03/my-profile.html

"My name is James M. (Mike) Mastrovito and I retired in 2004 after a career of some fifty years in law enforcement and intelligence, as an employee of the FBI, the Secret Service and as an independent contractor with the CIA."
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Agent Thomas B. Shipman - October 14, 1963: Died of a heart attack while on a presidential protective assignment at Camp David, Maryland.