Milton Public Library

Scared fearless, an unlikely agent in the US Secret Service, Kathryn Clark Childers ; with Deborah Hickman Perry

eng

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Scared fearless

electronic resource

Kathryn Clark Childers ; with Deborah Hickman Perry

an unlikely agent in the US Secret Service

The era: the 1970s. The location: an airplane en route to Washington, DC. Kathryn Clark Childers chats with a fellow passenger. "Are you visiting?" her seatmate asked."No, I work there," Childers said, pointing out the window to the White House, which had just come into view. "I'm a Secret Service agent." "Really? I didn't know they let girls pull that duty. I'm not really sure what you do.""It's a secret." Recruited to the Secret Service as one of its first five female agents, Childers would surprise many people, including herself. Her duties included undercover work, protective details for Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, and attending state dinners where she met world leaders, including Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. In addition, she had to figure out how to disguise the .357 Magnum revolver that she carried at all times, whether wearing jogging clothes, a business suit, or an evening gown. It was 1970, and the Secret Service, like most public and private organizations, struggled-sometimes unsuccessfully-with the challenges of incorporating a rising tide of women into government service and other professional workplaces. Written in a lighthearted but highly informative style, Scared Fearless details the obstacles and the joys, the moments of high adventure, and the laughable fashion dilemmas that were part of Childers's groundbreaking role. Through everything that happened, Childers says she followed her father's admonition: "Just do it scared." "Rumor has it Kathryn was born during an earthquake. She certainly rocked history as one of 'the First Five.' Humor, intelligence, tenacity, and hard work paid off as she was thrown into a man's world of the US Secret Service during the chaotic '70s, thus paving the way for the hundreds of female agents who came after her." "Kathy and I worked some 'out of the ordinary but grand' assignments together during her time in Secret Service. We have completely different personalities and completely different backgrounds. Kathy loved the protection details and I loved the undercover and criminal investigations, however, we accomplished both with success...sometimes with a lot of sweat and tears. We made a great team. Kathy has the gift of taking an ordinary or mundane event and making it something special. Each of the first five female special agents had diverse backgrounds and experiences and Kathy presents one of these stories in the memories that she has highlighted in this book." "They were pioneers who blazed the trail for the hundreds of female agents that followed, and they continue to be essential to the Secret Service. Kathryn is an example as to why I am so proud of the females we employed and the tremendous value they added."

adult

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