Jerry Parr

Jerry S. Parr (September 16, 1930 – October 9, 2015) was a United States Secret Service agent who is best known for defending President Ronald Reagan during the attempt on the president's life on March 30, 1981, in Washington, D.C. Parr pushed Reagan into the presidential limousine and made the critical decision to divert the presidential motorcade to George Washington University Hospital instead of returning to the White House. He was honored for his actions that day with U.S. Congress commendations, and is widely credited with helping to save the president's life.

Early life Jerry Studstill Parr was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on September 16, 1930, and he grew up in the Miami area.

An ordained minister, in 1987, Parr was awarded an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Eureka College. He was working as a lineman for Florida Power and Light in 1962 when he was interviewed by a visiting recruiter for the Secret Service. When asked if he was able to assume the risks of the job, Parr replied it was probably no more dangerous than what he had been doing for the power company. Parr quickly pushed Reagan into the limousine, and as a result, one of the bullets overshot the president. Parr's prompt reaction had saved Reagan from being hit in the head.:224 However, the final bullet ricocheted off the armored side of the limousine and hit the president in the left underarm, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, causing it to partially collapse, and stopping less than an inch (25 mm) from his heart.

Carolyn, Parr's wife, had been standing directly across the street when the shooting occurred. Parr had called to invite her to come watch the president's exit and get a fun glimpse of her husband in action.

After the Secret Service first announced "shots fired" over its radio network at 2:27 p.m., Reagan—codename "Rawhide"—was taken away by the agents in the limousine ("Stagecoach"). At first, no one knew that he had been shot, and Parr stated that "Rawhide is OK...we're going to Crown" (the White House), as he preferred its medical facilities to an unsecured hospital.

Reagan was in great pain from the bullet that struck his rib, and he believed that the rib had cracked when Parr pushed him into the limousine. When the agent checked him for gunshot wounds, however, Reagan coughed up bright, frothy blood. Although the president believed that he had cut his lip, Parr believed that the cracked rib had punctured Reagan's lung and ordered the motorcade to divert to nearby George Washington University Hospital, which the Secret Service periodically inspected for use. Although Reagan came close to death, the medical team's quick action—and Parr's decision to drive to the hospital instead of the White House—likely saved the president's life.

After the assassination attempt, Jerry Parr was hailed as a hero. He later wrote about the assassination attempt in his autobiography, calling it both the best and the worst day of his life. He was survived by Carolyn, his wife of nearly 56 years, three daughters and four granddaughters.

Awards and honors Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive from the U.S. Secret Service, 1984 Larry King Live, Meet the Press, Discovery Channel, History Channel, PBS, and Travel Channel.

Depiction in media Parr was portrayed by John Robinson in the 2003 film The Reagans and by Joe Chrest in the 2016 television film Killing Reagan.