REFLECTIONS

A bullet grazed the right ear of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally held by Trump’s supporters July 14, in Butler, Pa.

Quick action by the U.S. Secret Service saved Trump’s life and saw him escape with minimal injuries.

The Secret Service was, until 2003, part of the Department of the Treasury, due to its initial mandate of combatting counterfeiting of U.S. currency. The agency has protected U.S. presidents and presidential candidates since 1901.

Trump falls into two categories: former president and presidential candidate.

Saw Ike, Stevenson

I’ve had just a few experiences with the Secret Service. My brother Dave and I were held back by Security agents in 1952 when Presidential candidates Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson appeared at a national plowing contest in Dodge Center.

It was a hot, steamy day, and my brother and I both came close to fainting. We were protected, however, by facsimile Army helmets containing “I Like Ike” buttons on the front.

I wish we had kept those helmets but “boys will be boys,” and we wore them out.

Saw VP Nixon

My second experience with the U.S. Secret Service came one week from the 1968 Presidential election, when I had the opportunity to cover former Vice President Richard Nixon’s visit to Rochester, Minn.

I was a young reporter who was in awe as he was accredited to be an official member of the press. I recall taking my station after I was informally searched by Secret Service agents.

It was a scary time, as I observed a rifleman on top of an airplane hangar. The media was given full leniency to snap photos of Vice President Nixon flashing his patented “V” sign.

I had more trouble with other members of the press than with the Secret Service. As I was shooting photos of VP Nixon from 12 feet away, a fellow photographer from the Boston Globe yelled at me, “Put your elbows down.” I had my elbows out like I was going to take flight. I learned to tuck in my elbows while taking photos.

Other presidential connections

• Riding the Freedom Train with former Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Walter Mondale, who became a vice president in 1976 was in the back of the train, and Humphrey was the train engineer. No Secret Service protection
• I interviewed former Vice President Humphrey in the Forest Lake, Minn., Police Station on the 4th of July in 1976. Humphrey was campaigning for his old U.S. Senate seat. No Secret Service protection.
• In 1978, President Jimmy Carter was in Minneapolis to attend the funeral of former Vice President Humphrey. The media was relegated to pool coverage. I watched the funeral service from the basement of Humphrey’s Waverly, Minn. church.
• In 1992, my fellow Forest Lake Times photographer Cliff Buchan and I covered  President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and VP Al Gore and first wives Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore. We were body searched and forced to turn over our 35 mm cameras. Agents removed lenses and then returned them. Cliff even shook hands with President Clinton. I covered President Clinton three times during his presidency. In depth questions had to be answered.
• President George W. Bush and Air Force One landed in Minneapolis (air was closed to other traffic) in March of 2011, just months before the 9/11 disaster. Cliff Buchan and I again teamed up to cover the president. We had our camera bags sniffed by security dogs. I also covered President George W. at his inauguration in 2005. Had to go through metal detectors at all government buildings.
• Covered Obama as a candidate. I was given special privilege of being in a circled off area with candidate Obama. Covered President Obama two times when he was president. I was credentialed to cover Obama at the National American Legion convention and at a law enforcement event.
• I covered the 2012 Republican Convention and got behind the scenes with the help of a Media pass and help from my brother-in-law, who was a State Trooper and on duty at the RNC. He was staying at our house at the time.

I consider myself fortunate to have had these close contacts with history.