The Not So Secret ...U.S. Secret Service Quiz

Answer: 1865

The Secret Service was commissioned on June 23,1865 in Washington D.C. It became the second federal law enforcement agency in the country.

Answer: To suppress counterfeit currency

Since its creation, the Secret Service has had primary jurisdiction over the prevention of counterfeiting of U.S. currency and U.S. treasury bonds and notes, which is why the agency was established under the Department of the Treasury.

Answer: no

Nearly one-forth of the 5,000 employees are assigned to the Uniformed Division. The attire for the members of the Uniformed Division includes police dress uniforms for White House police officers, police work uniforms for investigative officers, and work clothes and identification vests for members of the counter sniper team.

Answer: 1902

In 1894, the Secret Service began informal part-time protection for President Grover Cleveland.

After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, Congress informally requested Secret Service presidential protection.

A year later, the Secret Service assumed the responsibility full time. Two operatives (agents) were assigned full time to the White House Detail.

Answer: William Craig

Agent Craig was killed while riding in a presidential motorcade.

The 46 year old agent was killed on September 3, 1902 when a speeding trolley car crashed into the open-air horse carriage carrying President Theodore Roosevelt in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

The President received only superficial cuts and bruises.

Answer: one

Private Leslie Coffelt of the White House Police Force (now known as the Secret Service Uniformed Division) was killed on November 1, 1950 during an assassination attempt on President Harry Truman.

Two Puerto Rican nationalist and independence advocates Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo, who were angry with the treatment of Puerto Rico by the United States, attempted to enter the President's residence at the Blair-Lee House to assassinate him. At the time the White House (across the street) was under renovation for severe structural problems. Torresola approached the guard booth at the west corner of the Blair-Lee house, encountered Pvt. Coffelt who was sitting inside, and opened fire with his German 9 mm Luger semi-automatic pistol at close range. Three of the shots struck Coffelt
in the chest and abdomen, mortally wounding the agent. As Torresola was firing at other White House Policemen, the mortally wounded Coffelt staggered out of his guard booth, leaned against it, and aimed his revolver at Torresola. Coffelt squeezed the trigger and fired, hitting Torresola in the head, killing him instantly.

Coffelt succumbed to his wounds in a hospital four hours later.

Answer: Department of Homeland Security

The Secret Service was founded and operated under the U.S. Department of the Treasury until 2003.

In 2002, the Department of Homeland Security was established with the passage of Public Laws 107-296, which in part, transferred the United States Secret Service from the Department of the Treasury to the new department, effective March 1, 2003.

Answer: Protectees

The Secret Service is authorized by law to protect:

* the president, the vice president, (or other individuals next in
of succession to the Office of the President), the president-
elect and the vice president-elect;
* the immediate families of the above individuals;
* former presidents, their spouses for their lifetimes, except when
the spouse re-marries. In 1997, Congressional legislation became
effective limiting Secret Service protection to former Presidents
for a period of not more than 10 years from the date the former
President leaves office.
* children of former presidents until age 16;
* visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses
traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the
United States, and official representatives of the United States
performing special missions abroad;
* major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, and their
spouses within 120 days of a general Presidential election.

Answer: Only agent to survive a bullet wound during a presidential assassination attempt

While all Secret Service are trained to "take a bullet for the President," Timothy J. McCarthy is the only agent who's actually done so.

On March 30, 1981, McCarthy was shot in the abdomen by John W. Hinkley, after leaping between President Ronald Reagan and Hinkley,
as Hinkley fired six shots at close range at Reagan. Reagan was hit by the gunfire, but recovered from his wound, as did McCarthy and two other gunshot victims. Also wounded in the attempted assassination outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. were Presidential Press Secretary James Brady and District of Columbia Police Officer Thomas Delehanty.

Answer: no

The Secret Service Presidential Protection Detail safeguards the President of the United States and his immediate family. This detail is heavily armed and works with local police and the military to safeguard the President when he travels in "Air Force One" (his jet plane) "Marine One" (his helicopter) and by limousine in motorcades.


Reference information for this quiz came in part from:

United States Secret Service
www.secretservice.gov/7-25-2006

United States Secret Service
en.wikipediaorg/wiki/united_states_secret_service51k

DHS Department of Homeland Security - guarding the President
www.dhsgov.dhspublicdisplay