Hear from retired Secret Service agent who helped keep Bush 41 safe during his presidency

HOUSTON – If you look at photos of the 41st president, Jim Napolitano was typically in the frame with other Secret Service agents,  keeping a watchful eye. 

“We were there looking for anything that could be a possible problem,” said Napolitano. 

The retired Secret Service agent spent more than 20 years with the agency. He said that working on the Bush detail included busy schedules and traveling across the country to protect the former president and his family.

Napolitano said that he once took a golf ball to the back to shield Barbara Bush at a golf tournament and spent tense moments with the former president aboard a 747 that had a hole in the wing.

Napolitano said that through the monumental and ordinary days, George H.W. Bush was always a constant in his kindness and respect to others.

“He taught a lot of people by his actions how to treat others,” Napolitano said. “At the Houstonian, I saw him treat everyone from the maintenance guys to the gardeners to the head of the hotel all the same. He was always very gracious and kind to everyone.”


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