http://www.taraross.com/2017/0...-ronald-reagan-shot/

On this day in 1981, Ronald Reagan is shot by a would-be assassin. The President was then leaving an event at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, Reagan’s Secret Service detail moved fast! One agent, Jerry Parr, pushed Reagan down and into a limousine. In the meantime, another agent, Tim McCarthy, threw himself in front of Reagan, in a spread-eagle position. He was trying to turn himself into the biggest possible target, hoping that the President wouldn’t be hit.

Given the chaotic scene, the agents couldn’t prevent Reagan from being shot that day, but they likely did save him from taking a bullet to the head.

Unfortunately, the incident wasn’t without other casualties. D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty and White House Press Secretary James Brady both took bullets. Brady suffered the most serious injury of the four men: He was shot in the head and would be permanently paralyzed.

Reagan later described his own experience of the day:

“I was almost to the car when I heard what sounded like two or three firecrackers over to my left—just a small fluttering sound, pop, pop pop.” He was thrown into the limo and “landed on my face atop the arm rest across the backseat . . . Jerry jumped on top of me.” Reagan was in excruciating pain and thought Parr had broken one of his ribs.

It was more than just a broken rib, of course. Reagan had been shot under his left arm, but the bullet had ricocheted off a rib and into a lung. It had settled less than an inch from his heart.

Naturally, a little thing like being shot couldn’t dampen Reagan’s sense of humor. When he saw Nancy Reagan at the hospital, he quipped, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” On the way into surgery, he told his doctor, “I hope you’re a Republican.” The doctor (who happened to be a liberal Democrat) responded with class: “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”

As Reagan recovered from surgery, he was placed on a respirator to help his left lung, which had collapsed. The Gipper was still cracking jokes—even if he had to scribble them on a piece of paper. “I’d like to do this scene again,” he wrote, “starting at the hotel.”

Despite his age and the bullet wound, Reagan recovered quickly and was soon back at work, signing a bill from his hospital bed by the next day. In the end, he spent a little less than two weeks in the hospital.

The entire series of events unfolded because of the delusions of one man, John Hinckley, Jr., who was obsessed with the actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley thought that killing a President would impress her. In an odd twist, he didn’t really care about Reagan one way or another. In fact, he’d originally planned to shoot Jimmy Carter, but his plans had been foiled when he was caught in a Nashville airport with guns and ammunition in his baggage.

For his part, Reagan credited his survival to a divine hand. “Someone,” he later wrote, “was looking out for us that day.” His autobiography notes the unusual number of doctors at the E.R. when he arrived after the shooting. The doctors had been there for a meeting, but the result was that specialists in virtually every medical field were immediately available to help save the President.

“Whatever happens now,” Reagan would write in his diary on April 11, “I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can.”


Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6CNRlQG0mg

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
On the way into surgery, he told his doctor, “I hope you’re a Republican.” The doctor (who happened to be a liberal Democrat) responded with class: “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”

Ah, the good old days of civil disagreement.

I was only 10 years old at the time, but remember it well. I was getting off the bus that afternoon and the driver seemed distraught. I asked her what was wrong and she said "the President has been shot". I went home and watched the news reports.

If you haven't already, the book "Rawhide Down" is an excellent read. I really had no idea how close The Gipper came to dying until I read it.

And by the way, fuck John Hinckley. He deserves no leniency, and as far as I'm concerned, can rot in hell. It's a crying shame they let him go on "full-time convalescent leave"

I too was only 10. I remember watching the news that evening and it was that day that I determined one day I would own an Uzi.

Glad he wasn't using a 10mm.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
On the way into surgery, he told his doctor, “I hope you’re a Republican.” The doctor (who happened to be a liberal Democrat) responded with class: “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”

Ah, the good old days of civil disagreement.

People today can't even fathom that he was able to get his agenda thru a democrat majority House and that he and Tip O'Neil (dem speaker of the House for you whippersnappers) actually liked each other and socialized together.

I liked his quip after surgery:

quote:

As Reagan recovered from surgery, he was placed on a respirator to help his left lung, which had collapsed. The Gipper was still cracking jokes—even if he had to scribble them on a piece of paper. “I’d like to do this scene again,” he wrote, “starting at the hotel.”

scoff not at the .22

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
scoff not at the .22

Forgot where I read it. But wasn't it a "trick" .22? Fragmenting? Can't remember.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
On the way into surgery, he told his doctor, “I hope you’re a Republican.” The doctor (who happened to be a liberal Democrat) responded with class: “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”

Ah, the good old days of civil disagreement.

I will never forget my boss, a liberal white woman, laughing with delight when we got the news, saying repeatedly that she hoped Reagan would die. I remained civil, as did everybody else who heard her.

Later that year when the Pope was shot, I asked her how she felt about that one, and she just looked at me with a blank stare.

Between 3:02 and about 3:13 in the video, the white-haired guy in the camel-colored sports coat was a friend of mine.

I was in middle school at the time, the same one John Hinckley Jr. went too, we found his signature in several of the textbooks in the days afterward.

I also remember Alexander Haig stating so emphatically, "I am in charge" when he was about #7 on the list of people who would be in control of the govt. if something happened to the president.

I remember being in school and the secretary hurrying to every classroom to announce that the president had been shot.

quote:

Originally posted by Spokane228:

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
scoff not at the .22

Forgot where I read it. But wasn't it a "trick" .22? Fragmenting? Can't remember.

"Devastator" rounds I believe. They had a small charge that was supposed to explode on impact. None that hit Reagan actually exploded.

One that hit Brady though may have if I recall correctly

Has it really been that long ago?!?! I remember it so well. Was a freshman in high school.

What a class act Mr. & Mrs. Reagan were. And his legacy continues to improve with the passage of time.

You get a good look at Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy at the 0.20 second mark in the video.

I always remembered McCarthy because he reacted instantly, stood in front of Reagan, and took one of the bullets intended for the president. What an incredibly brave act.

After recovering from his injury, McCarthy returned to the Secret Service for a few years, but then came to the Chicago area where he's been Chief of Police for south suburban Orland Park since 1994.

When men were men, and SS carried UZIs...

There was a lot going on at the time.

quote:

The first assessments by the Pentagon revealed that more Soviet submarines than usual were off the East Coast.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ma...gan-was-shot/308396/

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
There was a lot going on at the time.

quote:

The first assessments by the Pentagon revealed that more Soviet submarines than usual were off the East Coast.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ma...gan-was-shot/308396/

I remember seeing a documentary about the shooting and how they thought right away that it may have been a Soviet decapitation strike prior to launching missiles.

What a President, inspirational the way Reagan handled it all. I remember our 3rd grade teacher rolling a TV into the classroom for us to watch what was going on.

Where'd he pull the Uzis from? His coat?


Btw, Definitely not seeing anyone with fake arms.

They used to carry them in small attache cases.