Can you guess what former President Jimmy Carter's Secret Service code name was?
Former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter attend church on Easter Sunday at Maranatha Baptist Church on April 20, 2014 in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Chris McKay/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - This weekend is former President Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday.
Many are taking the time to get nostalgic about the former commander-in-chief.
The former president grew up in Plains, Georgia. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in 1976 and served from 1977 to 1981.
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Since 1976, the Secret Service has been by his side, protecting him. It even offered a heartfelt reaction to his entering into hospice care back earlier this year writing:
"Rest easy Mr. President. We will be forever by your side."
When did the Secret Service first begin protecting presidents?
While the U.S. Secret Service was founded during the Civil War back in 1865, it was originally tasked with one thing.
As part of the Treasure Department, its sole mission was to combat counterfeiting. It was a serious problem at the time.
It was estimated that one-third to one-half of the currency in circulation was actually counterfeit.
In 1901, it took on a second assignment: protecting the president.
In this handout image provided by the Elders, Jimmy Carter talks with his grandson Hugo Wentzel, 10, during a picnic event on October 31, 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Jeff Moore/The Elders via Getty Images)
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It was the year President William McKinley was struck down by an assassin’s bullet in Buffalo, New York.
Agents would begin to protect president, vice president, president-elect, vice president-elect, their family members, spouses, children under 16, heads of state and dignitaries traveling to the U.S., major presidential candidates within 120 days of a general election, other individuals by executive order, and national special security events.
When did the Secret Service begin protecting former presidents?
It was 100 years after its creation that the Secret Service was instructed by Congress to begin the protection of former presidents and their spouses, unless they otherwise decline protection.
In 1965, it was the height of the Cold War and two years after President John F. Kennedy was struck down in Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
There was real concern for the safety and security, even retaliation, for those who once held the highest post in the free world
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter spotted
Festival goers in Plains were in for a surprise Saturday when former President Jimmy Carter and his wife First Lady Rosalynn Carter made an appearance at the annual Peanut Festival. The couple took a ride in their SUV, greeting everyone who stood along the parade route. This comes just a week before Carter's 99th birthday, and nearly seven months after it was announced he would seek home hospice care.
What are Secret Service code names and who picks them?
It is more of a tradition than anything these days, but before the days of digital encryption, the Secret Service would use a code name for each person under its protection.
Those code names used to be more discrete, but with the advent of new technologies, they are released by the White House on occasion.
The Secret Service does not actually pick the names. That falls to the White House Communications Agency.
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That agency creates a list of names, and then the protectee chooses from them. The names are meant to reflect and resonate the individual personally.
How to wish President Carter a happy birthday
In less than two weeks, former President Jimmy Carter will celebrate a monumental birthday. On October 1, the country's oldest living president will turn 99 years old and The Carter Presidential Library and Museum invites you to join in on the celebration.
The code names need to be easy to pronounce, unambiguous, and readily understood.
Typically, all members of the same family will receive code names that start with the same name, but that is not always the case.
What was President Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service call sign?
During his run for the White House in 1976, the former governor of Georgia was known by "quicker" Secret Service code name.
A New York Times article titled "The well-planned enigma of Jimmy Carter" by James T. Wooten, dating back to June 6, 1976, gave his code name away.
The article describes how the Secret Service Agent John Chips called used the code name around the soon-to-be president for the first time.
In reaction, Carter said, "Mr. Chips, I’m not sure I like being called ‘Dasher.’"
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter waves to the congregation after teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 28, 2019. Carter, 94, has taught Sunday school at the church on a regular basis since le (Getty Images)
Sure enough, that code name would not stick.
He would go on to be called "Deacon."
Carter became a deacon in 1942. After his presidency, he would even continue to teach Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.
The name was apropos.
Meanwhile, his wife, first lady Rosalynn Carter, would be known as Dancer.
Amy, Chip, Jack, and Jeff Carter would be known as Dynamo, Diamond, Derby, and Deckhand, respectively.
It is believed the former president and first lady would later be called Lock Master and Lotus Petal.
It was announced earlier this year that the longest-lived American president, Jimmy Carter, would spend his remaining time at home in hospice care "instead of additional medical intervention."
This past weekend he was seen waving to the crowd as the annual Peanut Festival in Plains.
This weekend, the Carters are expected to gather to celebrate the former president’s 99th birthday.
And through it all, the Secret Service remains by his side.