OReilly Bill - The day the President was shot: the Secret Service, the FBI, a would-be killer, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan

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The Oval Office, unoccupied, during Ronald Reagans recovery following the assassination attempt, April 1981. [Ronald Reagan Library]

GETTING SHOT HURTS.

Ronald Reagan in his diary,
reflecting on March 30, 1981

T HE DAY THE P RESIDENT W AS S HOT is a story of courage, split-second decision making, superior training, and clear thinking. It is also a story of obsession and mental illness. These elements come together, of course, in the moment John Hinckley shoots the president, thinking he will impress a movie star, and a moment later when Agent Jerry Parr shoves Ronald Reagan into a limousine.

There are so many what-ifs in this heart-stopping story. What if John Hinckley had been identified as a threat when he was nabbed trying to get guns through airport security in Nashville? What if he hadnt been able to buy replacement guns? What if the president hadnt stopped to wave to fans who were standing close to him outside the hotel? What if Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy hadnt spread his body around Reagans and taken a bullet? What if Jerry Parr hadnt noticed the bloody handkerchief Reagan lowered from his mouth? What if Washington, D.C., traffic had delayed driver Drew Unrues arrival at the hospital?

Every single second counts.

The strength of character of the men hired to guard, drive, and protect Ronald Reagan began to save his life. The skill and speed of the emergency room staff, doctors, and nurses completed the task.

This book is a tribute to themmedical staff who work to heal each patient as if he or she is the president of the United States, and the men and women tasked with protecting world leaders. The best of them display the selflessness of true patriots.

REAGAN ADMINISTRATION (PARTIAL LIST)

George H. W. Bush: Ronald Reagans vice president, later the forty-first president of the United States, 19891993

Alexander Haig: secretary of state

Ronald Reagan: fortieth president of the United States, 19811989

Casper Weinberger: secretary of defense

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Richard Allen: national security adviser

James Baker III: chief of staff

James Brady: press secretary

Michael Deaver: deputy chief of staff

Edwin Meese III: counselor to the president

Larry Speakes: deputy press secretary

SECRET SERVICE (WHITE HOUSE DETAIL)

Tim McCarthy: Secret Service agent

George Opfer: head of the first ladys protective detail

Jerry Parr: head of the Presidential Protective Division

OTHERS

Benjamin Aaron: surgeon who removed the bullet from Ronald Reagans lung

Leonid Brezhnev: leader of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982

Jimmy Carter: thirty-ninth president of the United States, 19771981

Thomas Delahanty: D.C. police officer

Gerald Ford: thirty-eighth president of the United States, 19741977

Jodie Foster: actress who starred in Taxi Driver

Joseph Giordano: surgeon, head of the trauma unit at George Washington University Hospital

John Warnock Hinckley Jr.: loner, wanderer, failed assassin

Richard Nixon: thirty-seventh president of the United States, the only one to resign from office, 19691974

Nancy Davis Reagan: Ronald Reagans second wife

Secret Service agents surround John Hinckley following his attempt to assassinate Reagan. [Ronald Reagan Library]

WASHINGTON, D.C. MARCH 30, 1981 2:27 P.M.

I T TAKES JUST . SECONDS for John Hinckley to fire all six bullets.

The would-be assassin is immediately punched in the head by a nearby spectator, then gang-tackled by the crowd. Hinckley is buried beneath several hundred pounds of angry citizens as Secret Service agents try to take him alive. Ironically, their job now is to protect Hinckley with the same energy they devote to protecting the president.

As John Hinckley is subdued, three of his victims are fighting for their lives.

One of them is the fortieth president of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

THE ROAD
TO THE
WHITE HOUSE

CLEVELAND, OHIO OCTOBER 28, 1980 9:30 P.M.

F IVE MONTHS BEFORE the attempted assassination, Ronald Reagan strides to his lectern for the 1980 presidential debate. The former movie star and two-term governor of California is hoping to become president of the United States at the relatively advanced age of sixty-nine. His hair is black and his high cheekbones are noticeably rosy. At six feet one, 190 pounds, Reagan stands tall and straight, but his appearance does not intimidate: rather, he looks to be approachable and kind. With more than fifty movies and many television shows to his credit, Ronald Reagan is a familiar face to most Americans.

The governors opponent is incumbent president Jimmy Carter. At five feet nine and 155 pounds, the slender Carter has the build of a man who ran cross-country in college. In fact, the president still makes time for four miles a day. Carter is a political junkie, immersing himself in every last nuance of a campaign. He has made a huge surge in the polls over the last month. Carter knows that with one week until the election, the race is dead even. The winner of this debate will most likely win the presidency.