Frank David Slocum led the U.S. Secret Service’s Honolulu field office by example.
The retired special agent-in-charge’s loyalty and commitment to uphold the Secret Service’s motto, "Worthy of Trust and Confidence," was undeniable, according to longtime friend Don Wilson. Slocum, his boss when Wilson joined the Secret Service’s Honolulu field office as an agent in 1974, said, "Do as I do," Wilson said.
Slocum, who served 20 years in the Secret Service, died in Honolulu on Dec. 15. He was 88.
During his career, Slocum protected five presidents: Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Born in Long Branch, N.J., Slocum dropped out of high school when he was in the 10th grade to help support his mother and two siblings after their father left. Slocum moved to Southern California and sent his family money he earned from his job at an aircraft manufacturing plant with his uncle, according to Wilson.
He fought in World War II when he joined the military at 17 and served nearly 40 years combined in active and reserve military service.
Slocum also returned to school and earned his high school diploma from Long Branch Senior High School. While working toward his diploma, Slocum also took courses at Monmouth Junior College.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Montclair State Teachers College (now Montclair State University) in 1948. Slocum also graduated from the National Defense University’s Industrial College in Washington, D.C.
In 1955, he joined the Secret Service and worked at the Washington field office. He later transferred to the Los Angeles field office, where he was involved in counterfeiting cases. He was highly intelligent and a tenacious criminal investigator, said Wilson.
In 1967, he transferred to the Honolulu field office, where he served as special agent-in-charge until he retired in 1975. He handled numerous protective assignments for U.S. leaders and foreign dignitaries, and oversaw one of the largest check-forgery cases in the history of the service, according to Wilson.
Following his retirement, Slocum worked as chief of information security for the Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base for 20 years. During his second retirement, he was active in the community as a member of the Waianae Neighborhood Board and the state parole board.
Friends say Slocum will be best remembered for his integrity, honesty and resolute determination to complete any task.
He was a great role model, said Wilson. "I was honored to work for him."
Slocum donated his body to the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in hopes of helping students identify the cause of and find a cure for Alzhei-mer’s disease, a condition he suffered from, Wilson said.
He will later be cremated and placed at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
