Ronald Reagan said it was one of the worst movies he ever made – and by far the cheapest to produce. In 1939, Reagan starred in the film “The Code of the Secret Service.” In a series of low budget films, Reagan played a heroic Secret Service agent named Lt. Brass Bancroft. Bancroft protected the president and chased down counterfeiters. The dashing young actor, who would eventually play on the world stage, recited his predictable lines as the plots unfolded with little surprise – the good guys always outsmarted the bad guys. While he was often teased about his leading role in the 1951 classic “Bedtime for Bonzo” – where his co-star was a chimpanzee, Reagan maintained that the Secret Service films were worse. His view of his early movie disasters changed dramatically on March 30, 1981.
Just 69 days into his presidency, on a chilly afternoon in Washington, President Reagan was leaving the Hilton Hotel after addressing a meeting of the AFL-CIO. John Hinckley Jr., a mentally unstable young man who was obsessed with actress Jody Foster, pushed through the small crowd and fired his .22 caliber revolver six times in less than three seconds.
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His first shot hit presidential press secretary James Brady in the head. He then shot a D.C. police officer and a Secret Service agent who were a part of the president’s protection detail. His final shot ricocheted off the side of the limousine and hit the president in his left armpit, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, near his heart.
The president was forcefully pushed into the limo by Secret Service agent Jerry Parr, who covered him with his body. Reagan, feeling pain in his chest; but unaware that he had been shot, thought perhaps he had cracked a rib. As Parr was checking him for injuries, the president began to cough up blood. Parr made the split second decision to redirect the motorcade away from the White House to George Washington University Hospital. Unknown to both the president and his agent, the gunshot was causing massive internal bleeding. The president lost half of the volume of his blood. Thankfully, the surgical team at the hospital was able to save his life. Had Secret Service agent Parr not made the call to redirect the limo away from the safety of the White House and go to the hospital, the president would not have survived.
When Parr was 10 years old, his unemployed father liked to take him to the movies. They went to see the “The Code of the Secret Service” starring Reagan. The little boy had a different opinion of the movie than his future boss did. He loved the movie so much that he got his father to take him back to see it several times. The movie inspired the little guy to one day respond to a notice that the Secret Service was hiring new agents. The young boy from Miami, who loved Reagan’s worst movie, would one day save his life. Reagan’s character in the movie was shot by the bad guys, but somehow miraculously recovered.
Forty-two years later, it wasn’t an act. On that day, the boy who drew his inspiration from the movies, saved his hero. A friend of mine coined a term for events like this – he called them “co-Him-cidences.” Some would say it was luck – or fate – but I wanted to share this story especially with my friends here at The Examiner, which will close with next Sunday’s edition. God often turns our most troubling times into future moments of joy and gratitude. The ancient prophet Jeremiah gave voice to the One who is beyond human expression when he wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11) To my wonderful colleagues here at The Examiner, the prayers of our city are with you as you anticipate the co-Him-cidences yet to be seen.
