President Harry Truman Riding in Motorcade, Key West Naval Station, Florida, 1952

01

Artifact Overview

United States Secret Service agent Morgan L. Gies was responsible for White House vehicles from 1941 to 1967, serving five presidents. This photograph from his personal collection shows Gies leading a motorcade from behind the wheel of President Harry S. Truman's presidential convertible, a 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan. It was taken during Truman's 1952 vacation in Key West, Florida.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

02 March 1952

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

2011.241.14.17

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Edward L. Gies in Memory of Morgan L. Gies.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 8.125 in
Width: 9.938 in

Inscriptions

Type-written caption affixed to back: March 2, 1952 - President Truman in Key West, Florida motorcade in the 1949 Lincoln, driven by SSA Morgan L. Gies, followed by the 1950 Lincoln Bubble Top, designated the 100X. Note the retractable running boards on the 1950 Lincoln. This enabled the Secret Service Agents to stand on the running boards, giving them a better vantage point.
President Harry Truman Riding in Motorcade, Key West Naval Station, Florida, 1952