I am full of gratitude to all the people who have supported me, inspired me, and pushed me to be more than I could ever have been on my own.
Michele—you made every house we lived in a home due to your incredible attention to the special touches of home life, the holidays, and always welcoming family and friends. And you held the fort during those times when my career separated us and you had the house and girls alone. Thank you for making Cedar our special home at Camp David and for willingly sharing it with others. Like your favored sunflowers, you brighten the home, our lives, and the world around you with your love and support.
Briana and Ryanne—you are extraordinary women and you are the greatest joys in your mom’s and my life. When asked how our girls are doing, I always respond positively in the present, but I am really thinking about the future and how you will grace this world with your unique talents, compassion, and leadership. Serving in the Navy was an incredible opportunity and fulfilling lifestyle for me, but my greatest responsibility and passion in life is to be your dad and admire how you flourish.
My parents, Tony and Mary Lou—thank you, Mom and Dad, for the stable and humble lessons of life and for raising me to appreciate family and the simple things. Thank you also for supporting my naval career and all of my pursuits after retirement, especially this book.
My brother and sister, Philip and Lu Anne—thank you for “letting” me be the big brother, but as you know, no one is the oldest without wonderful, younger siblings such as you. Clemson Drive will always be home to me because of you.
My parents-in-law, Coach and Patricia—Coach, I will always miss our quiet mornings on your porch, looking at the woods over coffee and the paper. Pat, we lost you much too early and I know that you would have loved being with us in Cedar. A special thanks to you for teaching Michele the values of family, the kitchen, and the holidays.
And thank you to my and Michele’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and extended family, who continue to give us years of special memories.
Outside of my family and closest friends, the U.S. Navy is what I am most grateful for. My life went on a very fulfilling and atypical path when I entered the U.S. Naval Academy and I have been extremely fortunate every step along the way. I have always been fearful of what would’ve been if I had not taken the oath that very first time on July 6, 1977. Thank you to the class of 1981 and to Nineteenth Company, the greatest collection of caring and extraordinary friends that Michele and I have.
Thank you to the U.S. Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps for giving me a rewarding and fulfilling career and for the opportunity to report for duty to Camp David.
Another institution that has had a significant impact on my career is Penn State University. I went to graduate school in Happy Valley through the Navy in 1986 yet didn’t reconnect until after I retired in 2010. Special thanks to Melissa Doberstein, Mike Erdman, Nichola Gutgold, Meg Handley, Trish Long, Maureen Macaleer, Rick Schuhman, Greg Scott, and Roxanne Shiels.
Thank you to Joe Angell, Tom Carter, Bruce Gebhardt, Bob Morro, Rick Roth, and Mark Stangl for being among my closest friends.
Thank you, Joe Caruso, for your courageous and inspiring life story and for the many years of mentoring and friendship.
Thank you, Michelle Bergquist, for your support and friendship and for introducing me to Lindi Stoler.
Thank you to Mary Bennett, Don and Mary Crumbley, Kathleen Khoury, Ray and Debbie Mello, Amanda Montgomery, and Elena Salsitz for your professional support and advice.
To our friends in Coronado, California, thank you for your friendship and support for the many years we were in and out of this special community with the Navy; we could not have done it without you. A special thanks to Doug and Arlene Chase, Rich and Chris Keyes, Craig and Nancy Swanson, and Marc and Kelly Wing for their tremendous support and encouragement.
I am grateful to all the people who made my time at Camp David so extraordinary. Thank you, crew of Camp David! The camp’s incredible seventy-five-year history of service is inspiring and highlights the caliber of the people in uniform who serve our nation.
To President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, thank you for the genuine kindness and warmth that you extended to me, my family, and the entire crew every time you visited your mountaintop retreat, and thank you for the Christmas cards and opportunities to visit with you over the years since we departed Camp David. Thank you also for your kind words of support for this book.
To President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton, thank you for welcoming me and my family on that first visit of June 25, 1999, and thank you for the privilege of supporting you during your final years at Camp David.
Thank you, White House Military Office, for selecting me and then letting me and the crew do our job. Your support and guidance were always there, as it should be, yet you recognized the talent of the crew and let us shine. A special thank you to Danny (Diana) Donnelly for support, advice, and friendship.
I am also thankful to White House head usher Gary Walters and grounds superintendent Dale Haney, who were always supportive and gracious during my time at Camp David.
At Camp David, John and Lisa Coronado, Kevin and Ruth Timmons, and George and LaVerne Havash were extraordinary colleagues and friends and were part of the very important military triad. Thank you for your support and guidance.
Serving with the exceptional crew at Camp David was a blessing, as I shared in this book, and I offer my gratitude for the support, extraordinary service, and continued friendship of its senior leadership and their families: Brad and Julia Abelson, Frank and Darlene Cervasio, Don and Melinda Clay, Chad and Jessica Drake, Pat and Kelsey Garin, Cameron and Jill Geertsema, Glenn and Jill Hubbard, Eddie and Cathy Hughes, Tim and Laura Jett, Chris and Kathleen Kurgan, Curtis and Valerie Mason, Burt and Liz Owens, Chris Perry, John and Jill Rasmussen, Fred and Chris Szabados, Bill and Krerica Whitmire, Bob and Ginger Williams, and Heather Wishart.
To my fellow Camp David commanders: You get it, you’ve been there, and you understand. Thank you for your support on this book and for the tremendous time you spent on the interviews, storytelling, and sharing your happy, sad, and poignant memories. I am especially grateful for the input of my fellow commanders Chuck Howe, John Dettbarn, Bill Waters, Jim Rispoli, Jim Broaddus, Mike Berry, Joe Camp, Mike O’Connor, Bob McLean, John Heckmann, Bob Reuning, Keith Autry, Wendy Halsey, Russ Rang, and Jeff Deviney.
Behind the scenes, helping to make this book a reality, was a remarkable, supportive, and enthusiastic group of professionals. What an extraordinary team! It all began with Lindi Stoler, my book strategist, whom I met two years ago in San Diego. Thank you, Lindi, for your guidance and for connecting me with Steve Troha and Folio Literary Management.
Thank you, Steve, for taking me on and for helping me to develop the scope and potential of this story. Your patience with me is greatly appreciated.
Thank you, John Parsley of Little, Brown and Company, for seeing and believing in the wide appeal of this book and realizing that it would offer the reader a rare look inside the presidential retreat in Thurmont, Maryland. Thanks, too, to Pamela Marshall for continuing to shepherd the book to publication with the assistance of Gabriella Mongelli.
Remove any one of these people and this book might never have happened, but without a doubt, Catherine Whitney, you were the key! You were the perfect writer and I am so blessed and fortunate that we found each other and have worked so well together since our first meeting in Thurmont in December 2016. Thank you for your prolific genius, for your exceptional craft of writing, for teaching me so much about this process, and for your friendship.