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| "Sometimes Breathtaking. Sometimes Horrific Each photo has the power to inspire." One new Photo added Everyweek! |
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Posted on November 16, 2008 - Total Views 15518
Reagan Assassination Attempt
Reagan’s shooter was a mentally ill John Hinckley Jr who had an obsession with actress Jodie Foster after seeing the film, Taxi Driver. He stalked her for a number of years before he decided that he needed to do something grand to get her attention. Hinckley decided to try and kill the president imitating Travis Bickle the lead character (played by Robert De Niro) of the movie Taxi Driver who also tried to kill a famous politican. On March 30, 1981 Hinkley ambushed the President who was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel after delivering a luncheon address to AFL-CIO representatives. The attempt on Reagan’s life was caught on camera and is often used as one of the most famous pieces of footage of that era.
Video :
Ronald Regan
“My speech at the Hilton Hotel was not riotously received - I think most of the audience were Democrats - but at least they gave me polite applause. After the speech, I left the hotel through a side entrance and passed a line of press photographers and TV cameras.
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. I turned and said, “What the hell’s that?” Just then, Jerry Parr, the head of our Secret Service unit, grabbed me by the waist and literally hurled me into the back of the limousine. I landed on my face atop the armrest across the back seat and Jerry jumped on top of me. When he landed, I felt a pain in my upper back that was unbelievable. It was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt. “Jerry,” I said, “get off, I think you’ve broken one of my ribs.”
“The White House,” Jerry told the driver, then scrambled off me and got on the jump seat and the car took off. I tried to sit up on the edge of the seat and was almost paralyzed by pain. As I was straightening up, I had to cough hard and saw that the palm of my hand was brimming with extremely red frothy blood. “You not only broke a rib, I think the rib punctured my lung,” I said.
Jerry looked at the bubbles in the frothy blood and told the driver to head for George Washington University Hospital instead of the White House. By then my handkerchief was sopped with blood and he handed me his. Suddenly, I realized I could barely breathe. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get enough air. I was frightened and started to panic a little. I just was not able to inhale enough air. We pulled up in front of the hospital emergency entrance and I was first out of the limo and into the emergency room. A nurse was coming to meet me and I told her I was having trouble breathing. Then all of a sudden my knees turned rubbery. The next thing I knew I was lying face up on a gurney and my brand-new pinstriped suit was being cut off me, never to be worn again.
The pain near my ribs was still excruciating, but what worried me most was that I still could not get enough air, even after the doctors placed a breathing tube in my throat. Every time I tried to inhale, I seemed to get less air. I remember looking up from the gurney, trying to focus my eyes on the square ceiling tiles, and praying. Then I guess I passed out for a few minutes. I was lying on the gurney only half-conscious when I realized that someone was holding my hand. It was a soft, feminine hand. I felt it come up and touch mine and then hold on tight to it. It gave me a wonderful feeling. Even now I find it difficult to explain how reassuring, how wonderful, it felt. It must have been the hand of a nurse kneeling very close to the gurney, but I couldn’t see her. I started asking, “Who’s holding my hand? Who’s holding my hand?” When I didn’t hear any response, I said, “Does Nancy know about us?”
Regan again lost conscious and when he again woke up he saw his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan. Still keeping his wits he jokingly explained, “Honey, I forgot to duck” (borrowing Jack Dempsey’s line to his wife the night he was beaten by Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship).
Shortly before surgery to remove the bullet, which barely missed his heart, Reagan remarked to the surgical team, “Please tell me you’re all Republicans.” The head surgeon, liberal Democrat Joseph Giordano, replied, “Mr. President, today we are all Republicans.”
Reagan had been scheduled to visit Philadelphia on the day of the shooting. He told a nurse, “All in all, I’d rather be in Philadelphia,” a reference to the W.C. Fields’s tagline (which was itself a reference to an old vaudeville joke among comedians: “I would rather be dead than play Philadelphia”).
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Unknown 1981 Wikipedia |
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(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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Tags : 1981 • Actress Jodie Foster • Afl Cio • Assassination Attempt Reagan • Excruciating Pain • Famous Politican • Film Taxi Driver • John Hinckley Jr • Jump Seat • Luncheon Address • Palm Of My Hand • Polite Applause • Pop Pop Pop • Press Photographers • Reagan Assassination Attempt • Robert De Niro • Ronald Regan • Side Entrance • Taxi Driver • Tv Cameras • Washington Hilton Hotel
November 16th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Really? No comments?
November 17th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Reagan was erm missed.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:29 am
had to be mental to miss such an easy shot. Raygunzap, best president we had, even if he did blacklist people in Hollywood for his own personal power and advantage. he knew the real problem was in south america, too bad our presidents since havent seen how badly we need to clean house down there.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
thats true, the brazilians especially need a good arsewhippin.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
what of these crazy brazilian?
November 30th, 2008 at 4:22 am
Perhaps this photo should be retitled “Reagan Assassination **Attempt**.” This is not actually a photo of Ronald Regan being assassinated.
December 4th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
someone *** *** inated reagan?!
December 18th, 2008 at 4:51 am
nice time fer a smoke break, a Marlboro smoke break….
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
if the assasination had been successful, our country would not be in the Deregulation created mess wer’re in now. it all started in 1982 when ronnie signed landmark banking Deregulation bill. at the signing, he remarked:’well, looks like we hit the jackpot’.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:26 pm
“Get government off the backs of business”
“government is the problem”
later, ronnie, i for one do not miss you. you’ve done some serious damage to our country.
December 25th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Neo,
Your a truly a dumbass. God bless your dumb ***.
December 27th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
vhowe ufzdcn slungxjy ndjwoa zawebnq jgrudfh csmdyobu
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:18 am
America is not the world.