A passerby comforts an elderly woman who was knocked over in the ensuing panic after a shot was fired at President Gerald Ford in San Francisco. September 22nd, 1975
HistoricalEdit: "Off-duty police officer Ray Manly restrains would be assassin, 82 yr-old Betty-Ann Hayes, after failed attempt to shoot and kill President Gerald Ford."
The attempted assassin, Sara Jane Moore, was stopped by a man named Oliver Sipple, a former Marine and Vietnam Vet.
This assassination attempt became quite a cause celebre after it was revealed that the man who saved the President's life was gay. Sipple's life was quickly and thoroughly upended; he was outed to the press by none other than Harvey Milk. Sipple wasn't closeted by any means, he was known in the San Francisco Gay community. His family, however, did not know of his orientation, and when the national news was running headlines about how the President was saved by a "gay ex-Marine", it didn't take them long to find out.
Needless to say, his parents disowned him. He was harassed by reporters, he was outed to the nation against his will. It was a bad time for poor Mr. Sipple. Already a drinker prior to saving the President, Sipple became a full blown alcoholic at this point. He attempted to sue several newspapers and editors for invasion of privacy, but his suit was dismissed. He continued to try to fight until 1984 when the Superior Court of San Francisco basically said "look, shitty situation to be in, but your queerness was newsworthy."
Poor Oliver Sipple. He went by Billy. And saving the President's life had a really negative affect on his. He died in 1989, age 47, alone in his apartment. Still not accepted by his family, still drinking heavily, and with a framed thank-you note he got from the President on his wall. He was never invited to the White House, never saw himself as a national hero. His is a very sad story.
Edit: Thanks for the discussion everyone! It was mentioned several times that Radiolab did an episode on Oliver Sipple, and having just listened to it, it's truly fantastic!
Also, worth mentioning that while Sipple lived in San Francisco, he was originally from Michigan, where his family still lived, in case there was confusion about how he was out but still closeted.
If you live in the Bay, Sipple is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery. He died 2 February, 1989, and I'm going to take him some flowers because it just feels like the right thing to do. I hope everyone remembers Sipple and his sacrifice. Thanks everyone for reading!
Big_Simba on January 17th, 2018 at 16:44 UTC »
How much you wanna bet I can throw a football over them mountains
SportsDad63 on January 17th, 2018 at 17:06 UTC »
HistoricalEdit: "Off-duty police officer Ray Manly restrains would be assassin, 82 yr-old Betty-Ann Hayes, after failed attempt to shoot and kill President Gerald Ford."
georgiamax on January 17th, 2018 at 19:48 UTC »
The attempted assassin, Sara Jane Moore, was stopped by a man named Oliver Sipple, a former Marine and Vietnam Vet.
This assassination attempt became quite a cause celebre after it was revealed that the man who saved the President's life was gay. Sipple's life was quickly and thoroughly upended; he was outed to the press by none other than Harvey Milk. Sipple wasn't closeted by any means, he was known in the San Francisco Gay community. His family, however, did not know of his orientation, and when the national news was running headlines about how the President was saved by a "gay ex-Marine", it didn't take them long to find out.
Needless to say, his parents disowned him. He was harassed by reporters, he was outed to the nation against his will. It was a bad time for poor Mr. Sipple. Already a drinker prior to saving the President, Sipple became a full blown alcoholic at this point. He attempted to sue several newspapers and editors for invasion of privacy, but his suit was dismissed. He continued to try to fight until 1984 when the Superior Court of San Francisco basically said "look, shitty situation to be in, but your queerness was newsworthy."
Poor Oliver Sipple. He went by Billy. And saving the President's life had a really negative affect on his. He died in 1989, age 47, alone in his apartment. Still not accepted by his family, still drinking heavily, and with a framed thank-you note he got from the President on his wall. He was never invited to the White House, never saw himself as a national hero. His is a very sad story.
Edit: Thanks for the discussion everyone! It was mentioned several times that Radiolab did an episode on Oliver Sipple, and having just listened to it, it's truly fantastic!
Also, worth mentioning that while Sipple lived in San Francisco, he was originally from Michigan, where his family still lived, in case there was confusion about how he was out but still closeted.
If you live in the Bay, Sipple is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery. He died 2 February, 1989, and I'm going to take him some flowers because it just feels like the right thing to do. I hope everyone remembers Sipple and his sacrifice. Thanks everyone for reading!