RICHARD NIXON: 1913-1994 : O.C. Man Recalls Duty on Day Leader Resigned

NEWPORT BEACH —  Twenty years ago this month, Andy Gonis was a young Marine private with a set of orders that was the envy of his mates.

Fresh out of military police training, Gonis was one of a handful of recruits chosen for a special detail: guarding the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, whenever he came to Orange County to visit La Casa Pacifica.

“I was to assist however necessary whenever he was coming to the Western White House,” said Gonis, a New York City native who is now a Newport Beach police sergeant.

But Gonis’ expected glory days of protecting Nixon were cut short by the tug of history. The first time Gonis participated in actually guarding the president was the day of Nixon’s resignation.

“I knew it was a very important moment in history,” Gonis said. “But it was kind of sad.”

Gonis, then 19, was assigned to the special 12-man unit at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in April, 1974. He was eager to catch a glimpse of the armed forces’ commander-in-chief up close.

The first opportunity for that came a few weeks later as Nixon arrived at El Toro for a trip to San Clemente. But as one of the newer men in the unit, Gonis was placed with the overnight detail guarding Air Force One’s fuel truck.

“It was not the gravy assignment,” he quipped.

But on Aug. 9, when Nixon addressed the nation and boarded Air Force One one last time for the trip west, Gonis’ unit was readied again for the Nixons’ landing at El Toro. The preparations lacked the verve of other visits.

“The mood was generally low among all the Marines,” Gonis recalled.

That day, the base was opened to civilians who wanted to witness Nixon’s landing, Gonis said. Supporters and detractors showed up.

As the jetliner touched down at El Toro, Gonis said he remembered the crowd erupting into both cheers and boos. Yells of encouragement were laced with catcalls and hisses, which raised the stress level for the Marine guard.

“We were on alert for any unusual outbreaks,” he said. “Fortunately, there weren’t any.”

For half an hour, the Marines scanned the jostling crowd as speeches were delivered on the runway not far from Gonis. Then as quickly as he arrived, Nixon was whisked away.

The brush with history had passed, it is a time that Gonis will never forget. Like millions of other Americans, he recalled pondering the state of the nation; it seemed America would never emerge from the turmoil and upheaval that plagued the country through much of the 1960s and early ‘70s.

“I knew it was a difficult period of time for society in general,” Gonis said. “I was wondering where the country was headed myself. There was a whole range of emotions running through the crowd that day. But my concerns at the moment were to provide security and make sure I did my job. That was the most important thing.”