This week the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute hosted a commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan’s life, featuring journalist Del Quentin Wilber, author of Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan.
Drawing from the detailed reporting in Rawhide Down, the event revisited the harrowing hours of that day in 1981.
Wilber focused on the split-second decisions made by the Secret Service, the medical team at George Washington University Hospital, and the public servants whose actions saved the President’s life.
“What you think you know about March 30th, 1981, you don’t,” said Wilber. “What you really come to realize is that Reagan’s life was spared by a split second decision and a mere inch.”
Melissa Giller, Chief Marketing Officer for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said, “What transpired over the hours and days following the assassination attempt reshaped how President Reagan saw his presidency and how the American people saw Ronald Reagan. … Today, we honor a moment that revealed the character of our 40th President: his courage, his faith, his grace, and his good humor.”