REAGAN WAS UNAWARE HE HAD BEEN SHOT IN 1981 ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Last updated: Saturday, June 16, 2007

REAGAN WAS UNAWARE HE HAD BEEN SHOT IN 1981 ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Former U.S. President RONALD REAGAN didn't know he had been shot when a man attempted to assassinate him in 1981 - he only realised when he started coughing up blood.

Reagan had been in power for just 69 days when gunman John Hinckley, Jr. tried to kill him on 30 March (81), following a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C.

Reagan was shot once in the chest, with the bullet piercing his left lung and narrowly missing his heart.

But in the forthcoming The Reagan Diaries featuring the late politician's own memoirs, Reagan describes how he thought he had been accidentally injured by his bodyguard, who forced him to the ground the moment he heard gunfire.

Reagan writes, "Left the hotel at the usual side entrance and headed for the car - suddenly there was a burst of gun fire from the left. Secret Service Agent pushed me onto the floor of the car + jumped on top. I felt a blow in my upper back that was unbelievably painful. I was sure he'd broken my rib.

"The car took off. I sat up on the edge of the seat almost paralysed by pain. Then I began coughing up blood which made both of us think - yes, I had a broken rib + it had punctured a lung. (We were driven) to George Washington University Hospital.

"It was then we learned I'd been shot + had a bullet in my lung. Getting shot hurts. I opened my eyes once to find Nancy (his wife) there. I pray I'll never face a day when she isn't there. Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can."

Reagan stepped down as president in 1989 and died in 2004.

Source: WENN

| Saturday, June 16, 2007

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version