Robert DeProsepero and Ronald Reagan look at a print of Rancho Del Cielo 1982

Robert Lee "Bob" DeProspero (December 31, 1938 – March 4, 2019) was a

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...

special agent who served from 1965 to 1986.

Life

DeProspero attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

in 1959 and a master's degree in education in 1960. After serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1960 to 1963, he was employed by James Madison High School in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

, where he taught

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

and coached football and wrestling. In 1965, DeProspero joined the Secret Service, where he moved up the ranks and held many positions. In 1981 after the

attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States, was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as Reagan was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton hotel. Hinckley ...

, he took charge of Reagan's

security detail A security detail, often known as a PSD (protective services detail, personal security detachment, personal security detail) or PPD (personal protection detail), is a protective team assigned to protect the personal security of an individual or ...

. The following year, DeProspero was appointed to head the Presidential Protective Division. DeProspero devised several very important and innovative security measures during his time in the Secret Service that are used today — the "hospital agent" (stationing an agent at the nearest primary trauma hospital on a presidential movement), as well as the creation of

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...

checkpoints to screen every individual who could get a view of the president. DeProspero was born in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

. He died on March 4, 2019, at the age of 80 in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

References

''Agnew's Guards Heading Firm''
by Charles A. Krause, in the ''St. Petersburg Times'', of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

, on December 10, 1973
''In the line of fire''
by Angie Cannon, in ''The Spokesman–Review'', of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

and

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

, on June 26, 1998
''Agent Kept Heat on Men, President Alive''
in ''The Palm Beach Post'', of

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, on April 12, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Deprospero, Robert 1938 births 2019 deaths Law enforcement officials from Washington, D.C. United States Secret Service agents United States Air Force airmen People from Vienna, Virginia Military personnel from Morgantown, West Virginia West Virginia University alumni