Frank Wills, Gone & (Almost) Forgotten

Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the Watergate break-in.

Since the revelation of Deep Throat's identity two weeks ago, a lot has been written about the ensuing scandal, the meteoric rise of Woodward & Bernstein, and the fall of the Nixon Administration.

Yes, Mark Felt played an important role. And certainly Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are to be admired for their dogged pursuit of the truth. But the fact of the matter is that none of them are the true heros of the story. No, there is another individual who's name is all too often overlooked in the history of Watergate. This is unfortunate, for without him, Woodward & Bernstein would still be writing about the local fire department's dramatic rescue of a cat from a tree.

That man was Frank Wills, and he was the $80 a week security guard who first discovered a piece of tape on a door latch. He removed it, and on his next set of rounds, found that the latch had been taped open again.

That's when he picked up the phone, called the police, and set one of the greatest political scandals of the 20th century in motion.