From Vincent Palamara


SECRET SERVICE: SCOUTEN, STOUT, AND THE OSS: Back on
3/2/98, I included this comment in a posting of mine:

To date, I have had no response to recent letters sent
to former agents Larry Newman, Paul Landis, Alwyn
Dickerson, Gerard McCann, Kenneth Giannoules, Robert
Faison, J. Walter Coughlin, Robert Powis, Robert
Jamison, ***Rex Scouten***, and Chuck Vance. Also, so
far no response from letters sent to Mrs. Emory
Roberts, Mrs. Mary Greer, the family of Bert DeFreese,
Carl Renas, Mac Kilduff, or Jerry Bruno. I'll keep you
informed if this changes; it just might."---

Today, things changed: I received a much-belated
response from former Secret Service agent Rex Scouten,
now the White House Curator (I sent him a letter back
on 12/1/97 and, having not heard from him, put it out
of my mind). Scouten's letter reads as follows:

"Dear Vince,

I am so sorry and apologize for not responding more
promptly-I misplaced your letter along with several
other papers and just recently recovered them. I did
try to phone you however you apparently have an
unlisted number.

In any event I am pleased to respond-hope you can read
my scribbling:

[re: Secret Service agents Stu Stout, Paul Paterni, and
John Campion] Stewart Stout, following his retirement
from the Secret Service was hired (by me) as an
assistant Usher at the White House. He had a heart
disorder-suffered a heart attack at the White House and
died within a few hours. I believe this happened around
1963-1965.

Paul Paterni was [my] mentor when I entered the Service
in the Detroit field office (1948). I learned so very
much from him-Paul was most famous for his OSS work
during the war and his undercover work (counterfeiting)
in New York City. Upon retirement he moved to Missoula,
Montana. He died I think around 1980 [1984]

I served with John Campion a former Rhode Island State
Trooper on the White House Detail during the Truman
Administration. He was a "shift leader" along with Roy
Kellerman and Gerry McCann. He moved to North Carolina
upon retirement and died there in the early '80's.

Sincerely,

Rex W. Scouten"

Scouten has appeared on C-Span, The History Channel,
and PBS re: Truman and the White House.

Stout was one of the three shift leaders during the JFK
years---the other two were Emory P. Roberts and Arthur
L. Godfrey, all of whom were on the Texas trip: Stout
at the Trade Mart, Roberts in the follow-up car in
Dallas, and Godfrey in Austin. Stout was one of three
agents, along with several WH policemen, who protected
Pres. Truman against assassination on 11/1/50 at Blair
House (ironically, he was also in a building---the
Trade Mart---when another president was in the midst of
gunfire during another November day...). Stout was THE
first agent to die after Dallas, Roberts was the second
(in the late 1960's)! Stout is the "Hoover clone" noted
in Mark North's book (photo section). I interviewed and
corresponded with Godfrey, the sole surviving Shift
Leader, in 1996 and 1997.

Paterni was the Deputy Chief of the Secret Service and
was involved in, among other things, the critical
limousine inspection at the White House garage on
11/22/63 [see my article in the next KAC for much
more]. As Scouten noted, Paterni was famous for serving
with the OSS, the forerunner to the CIA.

Campion went from Shift Leader (ATSAIC) to an ASAIC
during the JFK years. He was replaced by Kellerman in
around 1962 and became the Aide to the Assistant Chief
For Security. A photo of Campion appears in Mary
Gallagher's book about Jackie. In addition, Campion is
mentioned by Floyd Boring in his recently-released JFK
Library Oral History, and a funny story mentioning
Campion is recounted by Rufus Youngblood on page 19 of
his book.

Write to Vincent Palamara at  vmplac@telerama.com