LEWISTON – Chad Lavoie called his mom as soon as he found out. He told her to turn on CNN in the morning and look for him.

Deb Lavoie did as she was told. But the news coverage was dominated by the blackout. She eventually gave up and went to work.

Chad called a couple of hours later and instructed her to go to a specific Web site. A photograph popped up, showing President George W. Bush kissing his wife.

Chad told his mom to scroll down.

Then she saw him, standing tall in his pressed uniform with his white gloves and shiny black shoes.

His left hand was at his side. The other was raised in a perfect salute to the president and the first lady as they stepped off the Marine One helicopter in Waco, Texas.

A first-grade teacher at Pettengill School, Deb Lavoie printed out 10 copies and sent them to relatives and friends.

The single mother was finally happy with her son’s decision to join the Marines.

When Chad told his mom two years ago that he was interested in the military, she saw weapons and war. She never imagined that he would be assigned to a special policing unit in charge of protecting the president and his helicopter.

Dogs or president

As instructed, Chad showed no emotion as the president and first lady strolled past him.

A supervisor in plain clothes was standing in the crowd, evaluating his performance. He had to look straight ahead. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t smile.

But Deb Lavoie could tell that the 21-year-old was more excited and proud than he had ever been, even after his best games on the Edward Little High School soccer field.

Chad has always wanted to be a police officer. Despite his struggle with getting good grades in school, he hoped to go to college. Then plans changed.

In June 2001, the summer after he graduated from Edward Little, Chad was working at a local gas station when a canister of gasoline blew up in front of him. He spent nearly a month in bed, recovering from first-, second- and third-degree burns on his arm.

“He had a lot of time to think,” said his mother.

Chad realized that he wasn’t ready for college and he decided to follow a few friends into the U.S. Marine Corps.

After boot camp, he went to military policing school in Missouri. When it came time to request his first assignment, he asked for either the canine unit or the presidential security unit.

He assumed he’d get the dogs. He got the president.

Background check

It would be another year before Chad could follow the president’s helicopter. First, the government had to do a thorough background check on him and his family, talking to employers, friends, even old teachers.

“I was a little worried, like what are they going to find,” said Lavoie, speaking on his cell phone from his base in Quantico, Va.

But, with nothing to hide but an old speeding ticket, Chad finally got the OK.

So far, he’s been to South Africa, the Middle East and 30 different states. He has twice been chosen to be one of two Marines who salute the president as he exits the helicopter.

Most of his time is spent guarding the helicopters used by the president and other top officials.

“The president leaves, and we’re still there watching the bird,” Lavoie said. “Sometimes we stay for more than 24 hours.”

3-mile run

The assignment does allow for some fun, however.

Last week, Chad and the other Marines were invited to join the president on one of his 3-mile runs at his ranch in Texas.

Knowing that the president only invites the Marines when the temperature rises above 100 degrees, Lavoie didn’t pass up the opportunity.

Lately, Chad has noticed that seeing the president no longer feels like a big deal.

“I think how crazy it is sometimes,” he said. “I see him and it feels normal.”

For Lavoie’s family, it hasn’t gotten to that point.

His grandmother, Jeanne Lavoie, has gotten in the habit of watching CNN for hours at a time. Whenever she spots a Marine, she calls to let Chad know that she thinks she saw him.

lchmelecki@sunjournal.com

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