Secret service Donzi

[glenncal1]

Secret service in a Donzi following LBJ in his Glastron:

http://www.classicglastron.com/lbj.htm

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Looks more like a Donzi commercial doesn't it?

[justleft]

Like the music in the 1st vid. Wonder who the gal was in the tight gold shirt and white pants.

[Carl C]

The Glastron has a Johnson motor.

[glenncal1]

Wonder what happened to the secret service Donzi's, probably auctioned off for chump change.

[mattyboy]

the SS detail for LBJ consisted of 2 16 which are seen in the video and a 400 hp 427 side oiler 18 barrelback v drive white with red stripes.

I would imgaine that the 427 boat as soon as it was found by the car guys was raped of it's originality as most 427 boats were.

[HOWARD O]

the SS detail for LBJ consisted of 2 16 which are seen in the video and a 400 hp 427 side oiler 18 barrelback v drive white with red stripes.

I would imgaine that the 427 boat as soon as it was found by the car guys was raped of it's originality as most 427 boats were.

I'm sure LBJ's 409 Glastron moved along pretty good, but I honestly believe the Glastron was a "dot in the distance" to let the prez have a bit of privacy and bragging rights. His Glastron wasn't pulling away from a 427 Donzi if the SS didn't want him to.... lol

Excerpt from website:

"Jerry Wilhoit, mentioned earlier, remembers well the fleet of Donzi Sweet 16s that the Secret Service used to try to keep up with LBJ. While they were great boats, they just couldn't quite keep up with the V-204 if LBJ decided to pull away at full power. Above is a good shot showing one of the Secret Service Donzis with radio gear and certainly some weaponry within easy grasp. Here is Jerry's recollection of "LBJ's Navy" as he called it:

Jerry asked me: "You know about LBJ's navy, don't you?" I said no. "Oh yes, Johnson had
Glastrons before becoming president, but once in office we fixed him up a nice 204 (1965 Gulfstream V-204). It had the big 409 in it. I did all the work on it. They wanted me to do all of it, so I did. Whenever he went out, here went all these Secret Service guys trying to keep up with him. And he liked to get away from them! The Secret Service guys kept asking me to slow the boat down, but the president wanted me to keep it fast. Shoot, I did what the president said. Yeah, that was LBJ's navy." Watch this 2 minute video of LBJ and these Donzis trying and failing to keep up with him. Note the camera man had nothing to film but the other Donzis once LBJ was a spot in the distance.

In the LBJ library film from this same date, LBJ was putting the hammer down as seen in the still picture shot from the same Donzi"


Then there's always this bit of lore too: "During the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war, Israel loaded a large number of Donzi 16s with explosives and remote-piloted them into enemy targets. And then there's the story of US president Lyndon Johnson, who took a couple of Donzi 16s off his Secret Service people and used them himself because he found they were faster than his Glastron - and to hell with security!

But security was smarter. They ordered two more Donzis, "only faster, Mr Aronow, but the President must never know."



Barrelback:

[mattyboy]

It's good to be the president

that would be the barrelback

[mike o]

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthre...=18+barrelback In Maine. Then in NY

[HOWARD O]

It's good to be the president

that would be the barrelback

Well, that President anyway!

[HOWARD O]

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthre...=18+barrelback In Maine. Then in NY

Huh....maybe it'll resurface again?