U.S. Secret Service Codenames for VIP's Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A U.S. Secret Service Detail assigned to Presidential protection discusses on their radios, the movements of their protectee, known as "Eagle". Which President of the United States were they referring to?

Answer: Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton, known by the Secret Service codename of "Eagle" was the 42nd President of the United States, and served two terms in office from January 20, 1993 until January 20, 2001.

Other Secret Service codenames for presidents included "Tumbler" for George W. Bush, "Rawhide" for Ronald Reagan, and "Timberwolf" for George H. W. Bush.

Codenames for political VIP's are assigned by the White House Communications Agency, (formally known as the White House Signal Detachment), which was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 25, 1942.

2. "Timberwolf" was the subject of the radio chatter between agents, involving the forming of a Presidential Motorcade. Which President went by the code name of "Timberwolf"?

Answer: George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush "Timberwolf" served as the 41st President if the United States from January 20, 1989 until January 20, 1993.

Other Secret Service codenames included "Searchlight" which was assigned to Richard M. Nixon, "Rawhide", the codename Ronald Reagan went by, and "Pass Key", the name selected for Gerald Ford.

Codenames are normally selected completely at random, and bears no actual reflection on the person assigned the name.

3. A member if the First Family, "Lyric" was the subject of many logistical discussion, regarding her security. Who was designated by Secret Service codename as "Lyric"?

Answer: Caroline Kennedy

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, or "lyric" as she was know to the Secret Service, was born on November 27, 1957, and was four years old when her father, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961, as the 35th President of the United States.

Betty Ford, the wife of President Gerald Ford was known by the codename "Pinafore", Amy Carter, daughter of President Jimmy Carter, was known by the codename of "Dynamo" and First Lady, Nancy Reagan was known as "Rainbow" to the Secret Service.

While security was the primary reason for the use of codenames, in recent years, use has been primarily for brevity and clarity of communications on the telephone and on the radio, to facilitate clear and understandable messages.

4. "General" was the codename assigned to which President of the United States?

Answer: Harry S. Truman

The first president to receive a codename, Harry S. Truman was designated as "General".

Other Presidential codenames were "Scorecard" and "Providence" for the one time Army General and 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Searchlight" for Richard M. Nixon, and Lyndon B. Johnson was known as "Volunteer".

5. Which political figure was known as "Renegade" to his/her U.S. Secret Service detail?

Answer: Barack Obama

Throughout his successful campaign to become the 44th President of the United States, Obama was known by the Secret Service codename of "Renegade".

Other candidates in quest of the Nation's top two offices were Senator John McCain, codename "Phoenix", Senator Hilliary Clinton, who went by the code name of "Evergreen", and Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, who was known as "Denali".

6. "Providence" was known to run a "tight ship" with his Secret Service detail. Which U.S. President went by the code name of "Providence"?

Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower served as a five star general in the United States Army before being elected as the 34th President of the United States. Eisenhower served two terms in office, from January 20, 1953 until January 20, 1961. During his terms, he was known first by the codename "Scorecard" which was later changed to "Providence".

Other codenames of Presidents or that era included "Lancer" for John F. Kennedy, "Volunteer" for Lyndon B. Johnson, and "Searchlight" for Richard M. Nixon.

7. "Lancer" helped to guide the United States through a difficult time in American History. Who was the President of the United States referred to by the codename of "Lancer"?

Answer: John F. Kennedy

Kennedy's codename may have been chosen to reflect the "Camelot" era ushered in by his administration, but there is no official word to support that fact.

Richard M. Nixon was known as "Searchlight" to the Secret Service, Ronald Reagan went by the codename of "Rawhide", and Bill Clinton was known as "Eagle".

8. One of the more prominent persons in any Presidential administration is The First Lady. Which First Lady went by the codename of "Starlight"?

Answer: Pat Nixon

"Lace" was the codename designation of Jacqueline Kennedy, Secret Service agents referred to Lady Bird Johnson as "Victoria", and "Pinafore" was the name conferred on Betty Ford.

9. Even the children of the Nations Chief executive gets into the act. Which Presidential offspring was referred to by the U.S. Secret Service as "Dynamo"?

Answer: Amy Carter

Other codenames assigned to Presidential children included "Twinkle" belonging to Jenna Bush, "Radiant" assigned to Ron Reagan, and "Energy" assigned to Chelsea Clinton.

10. As the number two man in the governmental structure, which Vice President of the United States was assigned the codenames "Sawhorse" or "Sundance"?

Answer: Al Gore

Gore, a two term Vive President under Bill Clinton went by two codenames during his eight year term. "Sawhorse" was the first codename he was referred to as. For reasons unknown, his codename was later changed to "Sundance".

Other codenames assigned to Vice Presidents included "Angler" for Dick Cheney, "Cavalier" and later "Dragon" for Walter Mondale, and "Scorecard", later changes to "Supervisor" for Dan Quayle.

Source: Author MaceoMack

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Since the late 1940s, the U.S. Secret Service has used codenames to identify the President of the United States, his family, and other high profile government figures. This quiz will test your knowledge of some of those names. Good luck.

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