August Adolph Gennerich (February 10, 1887 – December 1, 1936) was a New York City police officer, U.S. Secret Service Agent, and the

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Early life

Gennerich was born on February 10, 1887, in

Yorkville, Manhattan Yorkville is a neighborhood in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Its southern boundary is East 72nd Street, its northern East 96th Street, its western Third Avenue, and its eastern the East River. Yorkville is among the city's m ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Career

In 1909, Gennerich became a police officer with the

New York City Police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...

. He was cited three times for bravery, once for capturing bandits who "had peppered him for a mile and a half" with a machine gun until their car overturned. He later became a member of the

bomb squad Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the militar ...

. In 1929 he was assigned as a bodyguard whenever New York's

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

was in the city. He was assigned to Albany with then-Governor Roosevelt. In the winter of 1933, when the

Roosevelts The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady of the United States, First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, arti ...

moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Gennerich was given a 60-day

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

so that he could complete his 25 years on the force, and

retire Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

on a $1,500-a-year pension. This allowed him to join the

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 charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

and continue to work as President Roosevelt's bodyguard. The very first executive order issued by the newly-appointed President Roosevelt was Order 6071, which ensured Gennerich would be able to resume his position as Roosevelt's bodyguard immediately. Gennerich had grown close to Roosevelt and his family;

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

said in an edition of her newspaper column ''

My Day ''My Day'' was a newspaper column written by First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) six days a week from December 31, 1935, to September 26, 1962. In her column, Roosevelt discussed issues including civil rights, women's rights, an ...

'' that "He was cheerful, kindly and always willing to think of other people. He would play the piano for hours to amuse the children at Warm Springs. One and all they loved him."

Personal life

Gennerich died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in the early hours of December 1, 1936, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, while dancing in a restaurant. Gennerich was 50. Following his death, his body was returned to Washington DC on the and was laid in state at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

on December 16; he was subsequently buried in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In a letter to his wife shortly after Gennerich's death, Franklin Roosevelt wrote "Good old Gus was the kind of loyal friend who simply cannot be replaced".

References

External links

Behind the scenes at the White House
- a short 1930s interview with Gennerich * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gennerich, August 1887 births 1936 deaths United States Secret Service agents New York City Police Department officers People from Yorkville, Manhattan