Standing at the base of the wooden stage in front of City Hall, Lawson rotated his head from left to right, scanning the square, a human periscope rolling over endless heads, faces, and arms, alert to any sign of danger.įor this visit, Lawson had the added duty of serving as the Secret Service's chief of security planning. Their duty: to put their body between the president and a gun, knife, or any other threat. When Kennedy was shaking hands, as he loved to do, detail agents flanked him on either side, watching those outstretched hands for any sign of danger. When 'the Boss' - their informal name for the president - stepped on the platform stage, his detail trained their eyes and ears on the crowd for any odd duck, strange movement, or person with hands stuffed in their pockets. That inner ring of detail agents kept a unique vigil that relied largely on sensory instinct and coiled muscles.

They shadowed him as he stepped off Air Force One, as he stood waving from his limo the last half mile of the parade, and now finally as he addressed the enormous crowd in the city's center - Niagara Square. Lawson and the seven other members of the president's detail had a job that required every ounce of their concentration: Safeguard Kennedy from start to finish of the trip.

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