We all met at the Salt Lake UHP office at 3:30 A.M. The first order of business was taking care of the paperwork so that the federal government could pay us for this detail.
UTA transported us all out the the Salt Lake Airport, where we had to go through a special screening.
After connecting in Denver, we finally made it out to Washington D.C. ! Here's a shot from across the Potomac. Having never been here before, this was quite exciting!
At the hotel (up the road in Virginia), we were given a briefing by a Lt. from D.C. Metro (in the dark jacket). He told us exactly what we would be doing during the Inauguration Parade. He also told us that he has "Connections" at the White House, and that he would see if we could assemble there for a group photo out on the lawn. We'll have to wait and see if he really has the connections, or not? He seemed a bit too sure of himself.Jan. 19th
We were bused out to the American College, in Washington D.C., for the briefing and swearing-in ceremony. Notice the different police agencies in full uniform and looking sharp?
At the direction of our two Lt.s, we arrived in what is called the Training Uniform. I really wished that we had come in full uniform!
4,100 officers, from around the nation, were sworn in as U.S. Marshalls. This had to be done in two separate meetings. While here, I purchased my official U.S. Marshall badge. We were briefed on what would be happening on the day of the Inauguration, and were given training on how to handle different situations that might arise. A video taped message from Pres. Bush was played.
After the swearing-in, we tried to make our way over to see the Law Enforcement Memorial. Traffic in downtown D.C. was at a near stand-still. Lt. Shelton, our D.C. Metro Liaison, jumped out of the bus and went out into the intersection and held up the crossing traffic so that our bus could get through. We gave him a loud cheer when he hopped back onto the bus.
At the Law Enforcement Memorial, we were able to look up the names of some of our Fallen Troopers on the wall. Near the center of this picture, you can read the name of "JOSEPH S BRUMETT III". Joey was the first Trooper to die in the line of duty after I hired on. He died in December 1992 after being hit by a pickup truck in Salt Lake on I-15. In all, the UHP has the names of 14 Troopers on the memorial.
Jan. 20th
After waking up at 1:45 A.M., we eventually made it down into D.C. At 6:00 A.M., we were on Post at the corner of 15th Street and Pennsyvannia Ave. The temperature at this early hour was somewhere around 12 degrees.
Getting brighter. The Washington Monument is in the background. Seeing it in person, it is quite a bit larger than it appears in pictures.
Lt. Shelton came through and got permission, from the Secret Service, for us to walk in just outside the South fence of the White House. This was still the "Bush" White House--- at least until 12:00 P.M.
We all took our coats off and quickly posed for a picture in the freezing cold!
Getting closer to parade time. It warmed up to a blistering 32 degrees. I had to put my camera away after this one. When the Obamas came through this area, they were riding inside the Limo due to one man in the crowd that was acting weird. I DID NOT get to see the First-Family as they passed by because my job was to watch the crowd. When the Limo was passed by, I turned to look and could only see Mrs. Obama's hand waving through the window as they drove away.All in all, this was a great, once in a lifetime experience! Even though I supported McCain in the election, I could sense the excitement that the people were feeling in having the first black person sworn-in as President of the United States. It was almost like a party atmosphere all around town. I don't look forward to doing this again--- once is enough. I would like to someday go back and spend some time seeing all of the historical sights and monuments in and around Washington D.C.!
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