I was married to agent who saved Reagan

At the sound of the first shot on March 30, 1981, agent Jerry Parr shoved Ronald Reagan into the armored limousine and covered the president with his body. Seconds later, Parr recognized signs of a lung injury and ordered the driver to George Washington Hospital instead of the White House. Those two quick decisions saved the president’s life.

Jerry was my husband. He slept well the night before, in his own bed. He was mentally and physically sharp. In those days, the Presidential Protective Division had enough agents to do the job right. President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, mostly stayed in Washington. Their three adult children declined protection. And in 1981, the presidential election was history, the Vietnam War was over, and racial peace reigned in the streets.

Today is more akin to 1968, the year from hell for agents. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were murdered. Neither had Secret Service protection then, but Congress immediately ordered protection for all election candidates and spouses.

War protests were so strong that President Johnson seldom left the White House. Instead, he sent Hubert Humphrey, his vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, to face the turmoil in the streets, riots in urban neighborhoods and endless demonstrations on college campuses.

Jerry was assigned to Humphrey, and the vice president traveled incessantly. No agent got a day off. More often than not, they worked double shifts, sometimes traveling or doing seat-of- the-pants advances one step ahead of the VP.

Then as now, most of the overtime was uncompensated. But most of the agents would have chosen normal hours instead of overtime pay.

As a Secret Service wife for 23 years, I can testify that such a schedule is hard on families. Christmas had to be celebrated whenever Daddy was home, but hardly ever on Dec. 25. Many fathers were absent when babies were born, and we wives banded together to help one another.

President Trump’s family is creating impossible expectations of the agency. It is not possible to adequately cover 42 presidential family members who travel the world, former presidents and spouses, and foreign dignitaries attending United Nations events, and still handle other Secret Service responsibilities. Of course, the worst possible consequence of so much strain is the danger it poses to the president’s life.

Congress can and should immediately do three things:

Reduce the number of people who receive protection. If they’re not necessary to our national interest, they can hire their own bodyguards.

Increase the service’s budget to hire and train enough people to make agents’ lives bearable.

At least until sufficient trained staff is in place, remove the overtime cap.

Because hiring and training cannot happen overnight, all of the overtime that agents are required to work should be fully paid, retroactive to Jan. 20.

Simple fairness demands it.

Carolyn Miller Parr is the widow of Jerry Parr and co-author of his memoir, In The Secret Service.