The Presidents’ Chauffeur Tells His Story

“From Fort Hood to the White House”

The story of Ross Giacomo and his incredible job traveling with three presidents as well as chauffeuring countless dignitaries and Hollywood celebrities as his daily fare while serving at the White House, makes for a fascinating account. Ross and his wife are La Feria Winter Texans, and like many, have had an almost fairy-tale life. “I still can’t believe it,” he said. “I felt privileged to have my job for ten years.”

“I’m from LaMonte, Missouri, a little town about 12 miles west of Sedalia,” he explained, adding that from high school he planned to be a career military serviceman.

“When I joined the U.S. Army, I had no idea where I would wind up serving,” he said.

“After two tours of duty in Vietnam and one in South Korea, I was again stateside stationed at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. I naturally thought that would be my base until my retirement–but not so. A telephone call drastically changed all that.”

One day, Ross relates, he answered the phone, “and I thought it was a prank pulled on me by some of my army buddies. The voice said: “This is the personnel sergeant for the White House Transportation Agency in Washington. D.C. (’Oh, yeah, I said to myself’). You are being considered for duty as the White House Chauffeur. (‘Oh, yeah, I’ll bet’). We are sending you a packet, and you will need to fill it out and return it.”…..and he hung up.”

“I called a couple of my jokester buddies in the service and told them to cut it out,” he said. “We didn’t call you about any chauffeur job at the White House.! Then, I realized it was for real. It took me 3 ½ weeks to compile the information they requested and fill out the forms for the FBI and local police stations so that I could get top secret clearing.

At that time, there were 750,000 men in uniform on active duty he learned. He was to be one of 56 enlisted men assigned to the White House.

“To make a long story short, I wound up at the White House driving presidents, including Ronald Reagan and President Bush and their staffs. The incredible list of passengers in the presidential limousine included entertainers, such as Fess Parker, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Riva McIntyre, Sherri Lewis and so many more of the top names in that industry.

“So, you see why I felt privileged to have my job. I held that position for ten unbelievable years,” he said. “I also developed many lasting friendships, including Presidential Secretary James Brady, who was shot at the same time as President Reagan. We still keep up a correspondence with his wife Sally after he died last year.”

After all that intense activity how do you keep yourself busy in retirement? “My wife Sally and I keep ourselves just as busy,” he said, “During the winter, we always stay at the La Feria RV Park; Some friends recommended it, and we never bothered to look anywhere else. We also get involved in as many local Winter Texan events as possible during our stay. We even took 3rd place in the Snow Man float this year.”

During the summertime, the couple volunteer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to serve as guides and give tours of the 3rd highest dam in the United States. It is Dworshak Dam located on the Clearwater river in the state of Idaho.

Sally added: “Our life since Ross’s retirement has been a flurry of travel to see what we can in all parts of the United States and our seashores. Ross and I have had an awesome life together and have developed real friends from coast to coast.”