Showcasing more than 80 high-resolution, mostly never-before-published, official White House photographs and documents, Bill Brockett’s 64,000-word memoir, Follow The Yellow Line: A soldier’s journey from the Selective Service Induction Center to the White House Oval Office, tells a most unique story of a Vietnam-era Army draftee who became a trusted confidante of the President of the United States.

Assigned to the White House Communications Agency one month before President Richard Nixon’s resignation, Bill is believed to be the only person, living or dead, to have physically attended all four major events at the White House on August 8–9, 1974…Mr. Nixon’s resignation speech, his farewell address to the White House Staff the following morning, the Nixon’s final South Lawn helicopter departure, and the swearing in of the new president, Gerald Ford. “During most of the Ford administration, Bill Brockett was an integral member of the White House staff. His position was very unique indeed. He was as close as anyone to a very special member of the Ford family—the President’s dog, Liberty.

“Because of the care and extensive training provided by Bill, Liberty adjusted very well to life at the White House and visitors to the Oval Office. Thanks to Bill’s work with her, Liberty spent a lot of time with the President, and certainly provided him the type of companionship only a beloved dog can. I know the Ford family deeply appreciated that and all of Bill‘s efforts.”
— Nancy Chirdon Forster, Former Personal Secretary to First Lady Betty Ford

 By November of 1974, Bill had taken on the additional duty of training the president’s new 8-month-old puppy, a Golden Retriever named “Liberty.” In early 1975, the president called Bill at home, very excited about breeding Liberty and raising a litter of puppies in the White House. Although just a sergeant in the Army at the time, Bill emphatically told the president “No” when asked if he would help, explaining that liberty was far too young to be bred. Three days later, after a very brief meeting with Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld, Bill met privately with Mr. Ford and was offered a third job, that of unofficial personal advisor to the president.

Six months later, Bill accompanied Liberty to Oregon, where she was bred to a stud dog of Bill’s choosing. On September 1, at the Ford’s request, Bill and his wife moved into the White House to assist with the birth and raising of Liberty’s nine puppies. During the time that Bill lived with the Fords, two assassination attempts were made on the president. Bill discusses these with facts that have never been pieced together or published before, showing just how close the first attempt actually was to being successful.

Bill remained friends with the Fords after the White House, attending both of their memorial services in Palm Desert, California, the First Day of Issue ceremony for the Ford stamp, and the christening of the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford.

Bill’s experiences and the easy-to-read, often conversational way he shares them make for a compelling read for anyone interested in the White House, the “unseen” presidency, and a great man’s love story with his dog.