An Extraordinary Opportunity

For the first time, a minute-by-minute account of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
On March 30, 1981, President Reagan walked out of a hotel in Washington, D.C., and was shot by a would-be assassin. For years, few people knew the truth about how close the president came to dying, and no one has ever written a detailed narrative of that harrowing day. Now, drawing on exclusive new interviews, Del Quentin Wilber tells the electrifying story of a moment when the nation faced a terrifying crisis.

Text from Rawhide Down, a book by Del Wilber.

Interesting stuff, isn't it?

Well, yesterday I had the rare opportunity to hear first-hand the inside scoop concerning a day in the life of our country for which the implications of its outcome were so significant that it will forever occupy top billing in history books. The day: when Reagan was shot.

I traveled about 2 hours north of San Diego to the Nixon Library to hear a panel moderated by talk show host Hugh Hewitt hich featured Del Wilber, author of Rawhide Down; Dr. Benjamin Aaron, the surgeon who operated on the president; Richard Allen, National Security Advisor to President Reagan and Ken Khachigian, presidential advisor to Reagan, who were on the inside of the internal turmoil within the White House on this fateful day.

No holes were barred. They shared anything and everything, including Secretary of State Alexander Haig's curious statement to the nation when he proclaimed, "I am in charge."

My opportunity was an extraordinary one and I urge all who live near a Presidential Library to take advantage of the tremendous programs they offer to the public (typically free of charge).

Photo by Cynthia Dial