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Never-before-seen photos of Richard Nixon post-Watergate, by his Secret Service agent

The photos depict a man who managed to maintain semblance of authority and respect after fall from the highest office.

It appears that Nixon surrounded himself with people who respected him, who asked him to hold their babies at beach barbecues, and who turned their eyes toward him rather than the person snapping the photos.

They were provided to KUOW by Nixon's former Secret Service agent.

Mike Endicott, a former Secret Service agent who protected Richard Nixon, fondly recounts protecting the 37th president.

The 76-year-old wore blue sweatpants and a hat emblazoned with USA as he described his 20-year career in the Secret Service.

Most notable, Endicott said, was his time spent at Nixon’s side. He headed Nixon’s security from 1979 to 1985, and acted as his special assistant until 1992. Nixon died two years later.

caption: Secret Service agent George and his wife and kids, with former President Richard Nixon. Mike Endicott, Nixon's Secret Service agent after the presidency, recalled that George moved to Paris. When Nixon would sometimes visit Paris, Nixon would have Endicott call George and set up a visit.
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Secret Service agent George and his wife and kids, with former President Richard Nixon. Mike Endicott, Nixon's Secret Service agent after the presidency, recalled that George moved to Paris. When Nixon would sometimes visit Paris, Nixon would have Endicott call George and set up a visit.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott
caption: Former President Richard Nixon poses with a woman described as “Keith Hernadez’s girlfriend, I can’t remember her name,” said Mike Endicott, former Secret Service agent. “I believe she was a model or something like that.” She bears striking resemblance to Joan Severance, who purportedly dated Hernandez, a Major League baseball player.
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Former President Richard Nixon poses with a woman described as “Keith Hernadez’s girlfriend, I can’t remember her name,” said Mike Endicott, former Secret Service agent. “I believe she was a model or something like that.” She bears striking resemblance to Joan Severance, who purportedly dated Hernandez, a Major League baseball player.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Endicott said he shared personal photos with KUOW to demystify Nixon, and show the former president in a kinder light. He had kept these photos in a manila envelope before sharing them with KUOW.

“He was hated but ... he had some of the best friends that anybody could have,” Endicott said recently. The former agent lives at an assisted living facility in Tacoma.

caption: One of the summer picnics. “We started out with just the agents, then it was the agents and some of their friends, and then some of the friends brought other people,” Endicott said. “We allowed this because (Nixon) enjoyed it. Endicott didn’t know any of the people captured in the photo by name, just that they were guests at the picnic.
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One of the summer picnics. “We started out with just the agents, then it was the agents and some of their friends, and then some of the friends brought other people,” Endicott said. “We allowed this because (Nixon) enjoyed it. Endicott didn’t know any of the people captured in the photo by name, just that they were guests at the picnic.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Nixon resigned from the presidency in 1974 after being exposed for sabotaging Democrats and bugging his opponents. He is the only U.S. president to resign. He was not impeached.

Lauded by historians for ending the Vietnam War, and the draft, Nixon has been described as aging into a bitter and paranoid man.

“I knew a different Richard Nixon,” Endicott said. “I knew, no question in my mind, the pain he was going through. I knew who he was. I know how much that job meant to him, and I know how much the country meant to him.”

caption: Former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott and former President Richard Nixon dine at a guest house in Moscow. The back of the old photo says with “Adriana Honig in Moscow guest house during a private visit.”
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Former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott and former President Richard Nixon dine at a guest house in Moscow. The back of the old photo says with “Adriana Honig in Moscow guest house during a private visit.”
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Endicott's photos show the former president during barbecues, with close friends, and on travel in Russia.

“I knew Richard Nixon like no one else,” Endicott said.

Nixon appears formal in these images, his hair combed and always in slacks, tie and a jacket, even when others wore bathing suits and sleeveless tops.

For 13 years, Endicott handled Nixon’s operations and logistics, planned his travel, and was his chef and confidante. He knew the foods he liked (stone crab from Miami), and what he enjoyed (ball games and traveling overseas with friends).

Endicott’s two daughters Robin McGuire and Leslie Mironenko sometimes babysat Nixon’s grandkids during summer visits on the East Coast.

“My dad really feels like Nixon and his wife were pretty much parents to him,” McGuire said. “They adored him and included him in a lot their family stuff.”

caption: Mike Endicott, far left, his daughters Robin and Leslie, and his son David, pose with former President Richard Nixon. “For three years we had the picnic here. We had an area where we set it up, where people could sit. There was a ball field, competitions with the kids. Nixon handed out prizes and stuff,” Endicott said.
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Mike Endicott, far left, his daughters Robin and Leslie, and his son David, pose with former President Richard Nixon. “For three years we had the picnic here. We had an area where we set it up, where people could sit. There was a ball field, competitions with the kids. Nixon handed out prizes and stuff,” Endicott said.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Endicott has written two books about his time in the Secret Service. The first was Walking With Presidents, and the second, self-published last year, was After Watergate.

Endicott said he wanted readers to look past their misconceptions about Nixon, who he called a “hated man.” He wanted his book to reflect the good he saw in Nixon.

Endicott, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about five years ago, said he also worries that the generation that knew Nixon best would soon disappear, and with them, a more nuanced view of Nixon.

caption: “This is Italy,” said former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott, looking at this photograph. “They’re sitting at the table and this is a picture of them in the mirror.” Endicott couldn’t remember the names of the men standing next to former President Richard Nixon.
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“This is Italy,” said former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott, looking at this photograph. “They’re sitting at the table and this is a picture of them in the mirror.” Endicott couldn’t remember the names of the men standing next to former President Richard Nixon.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

“Probably the biggest impact on me was understanding that things aren't always what they seem,” he said.

“I’m not saying we didn't get the occasional ‘Tricky Dick,’” Endicott said about the ridicule Nixon would sometimes face in public settings.

“If you stood back and watched him, you might not get the feeling that people didn't like him,” he said. “The people that came up and talked to him either liked him or had enough courtesy not to embarrass themselves.”

caption: The City of New York Police Department Emerald Society pipe and drum band play for former President Richard Nixon. “They came by one day and asked me if they could play something for him,” Endicott, former Secret Service agent, said. “I was retiring in three years, I asked them to wait until then and they said ‘yeah.’” Endicott recalled putting the bearskin hat on and marching around. “It was a lot of fun,” he said.
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The City of New York Police Department Emerald Society pipe and drum band play for former President Richard Nixon. “They came by one day and asked me if they could play something for him,” Endicott, former Secret Service agent, said. “I was retiring in three years, I asked them to wait until then and they said ‘yeah.’” Endicott recalled putting the bearskin hat on and marching around. “It was a lot of fun,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Endicott grew up in Tacoma, dreaming of being a biology teacher. When he graduated from St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington, his father-in-law, who was in the Secret Service at the time, suggested that he join.

Endicott took the entrance exam in 1965, two years after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, and the same year Congress authorized protection for former presidents and their spouses during their lifetimes.

Early in his career, Endicott convened an anti-terrorism program for the Secret Service, at a time when “terrorism was just rearing its head,” he said. For a year and a half, he traveled to Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Damascus, collecting intelligence.

caption: Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott glances at former President Richard Nixon, who is pictured in the foreground of the photo. Nixon was at the Moscow market during a trip.
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Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott glances at former President Richard Nixon, who is pictured in the foreground of the photo. Nixon was at the Moscow market during a trip.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

During Nixon's presidency, Endicott served on Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's detail.

Endicott recalled meeting Nixon for the first time, and the lasting impression Nixon made.

After 30 minutes into their conversation, Nixon told Endicott he possessed "intuitive intelligence," a term Endicott didn't understand until years later.

caption: “This is the guest house where we stayed,” said former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott, looking at this photograph. “Most of the time we stayed there when we were in Moscow. A few times we stayed in a hotel, but generally stayed at the guest house.”
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“This is the guest house where we stayed,” said former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott, looking at this photograph. “Most of the time we stayed there when we were in Moscow. A few times we stayed in a hotel, but generally stayed at the guest house.”
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Years after resigning, Nixon asked Endicott to join him, the former agent said.

He was offered the job as head of Nixon’s detail. By that time, Nixon had been out of the White House for about five years.

“I had an absolutely amazing life,” Endicott said.

caption: Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon greets an unknown agent and his wife during a Christmas party at their apartment in New York City. This was after Nixon resigned from office.
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Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon greets an unknown agent and his wife during a Christmas party at their apartment in New York City. This was after Nixon resigned from office.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

“He said he was going to be moving to New York and he wanted me to go with him,” Endicott said. “He told me he was going to get back into the front lines again and that I would head his detail up.”

Nixon told Endicott he was the seventh person he talked to about the job. The others had turned him down.

“He said, ‘So, you got it,’” Endicott said. “He was completely honest about what was going on.”

caption: Agent Frank Murphy and his family pose with former President Richard Nixon during a picnic in upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
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Agent Frank Murphy and his family pose with former President Richard Nixon during a picnic in upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Memories he holds near and dear: summer outings with Nixon, his wife Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon, their friends Robert Abplanalp, American inventor of the modern aerosol spray valve, and Charles Gregory "Bebe" Rebozo, Florida banker and businessman.

“Usually Nixon was a suit and tie guy,” Endicott said. “He put a suit on everyday, except for times when he was going to the island. Then maybe he’d be more casual and not have a tie on.”

caption: Former President Richard Nixon walks with Shirley Temple during a visit to Prague, where Temple was U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia. “He never visited or went to any of the embassies but when he went to this country, he got a call from her saying ‘I want you to come by,’” Endicott said. “When she was 7 or 8 years old she was the star in movies. She was extremely talented, sang and danced and just won America’s heart. How can you say no to Shirley Temple?”
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Former President Richard Nixon walks with Shirley Temple during a visit to Prague, where Temple was U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia. “He never visited or went to any of the embassies but when he went to this country, he got a call from her saying ‘I want you to come by,’” Endicott said. “When she was 7 or 8 years old she was the star in movies. She was extremely talented, sang and danced and just won America’s heart. How can you say no to Shirley Temple?”
Photo courtesy of Mike Endicott

Endicott said their close relationship developed over time. The more formal relationship of agent and president fell away as Nixon aged, and eventually, decided against having the Secret Service in his presence. Instead, he hired Endicott to serve him directly.

“There came a point where they transitioned into being more like friends,” Mironenko, Endicott’s daughter, said. “Nixon would call the house quite a bit for my dad ... I knew it was Nixon because of his voice. He had a distinguished voice and would call to speak to my dad.”

Despite their many conversations on life, and their 6 a.m. weekly planning phone calls, there was one subject the pair rarely broached. When it came to Watergate, Endicott said Nixon never brought the topic up, and he never asked about it either.

caption: Former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott sits in his Tacoma home on January 18, 2020. He holds the two books he wrote on his life in the Secret Service. One of the books centered on Nixon's life after he resigned from office due to what infamously became known as Watergate.
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Former Secret Service Agent Mike Endicott sits in his Tacoma home on January 18, 2020. He holds the two books he wrote on his life in the Secret Service. One of the books centered on Nixon's life after he resigned from office due to what infamously became known as Watergate.
KUOW PHOTO/ASHLEY HIRUKO


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