WORTHY OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE :

Secret Service honors its first hero (DAVE NEWBART, September 2, 2002, Chicago Sun-Times)

Shortly after the third assassination of an American president in 36 years, Chicagoan William Craig was tapped to be one of the first entrusted with the safety of
future leaders.

A giant of a man at 6 feet 4 inches tall and 260 pounds, Craig quickly earned the respect of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was at first wary of having men shadow his every move.

But within less than a year of taking over as the president's bodyguard, Craig was killed in the line of duty Sept. 3, 1902, when a trolley hit the carriage in which he and Roosevelt rode.

Tuesday--exactly 100 years later--the Secret Service will pay tribute to Craig, the first agent killed while protecting the president.

"He was a pioneer in the field," said Rich Podkowski, spokesman for the Chicago office of the Secret Service. "In the highest traditions of our agency, he paid the ultimate price for his country."

A more recent hero was Timothy McCarthy, who quite intentionally took one of the bullets intended for Ronald Reagan on March 31, 1981. Thankfully, he and the President recovered fully. Police Officer Thomas Delahanty and Press Secretary James Brady were less fortunate, but both did survive. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 2, 2002 10:58 AM