Secret service agent Jerry Parr, in raincoat to the right of Reagan, pushes U.S. President Ronald Reagan into the limousine after the assassination attempt on March 30, 1981.Ron Edmonds/The Associated Press
Jerry Parr, the Secret Service agent in charge of Ronald Reagan's detail who was credited with saving the president's life during the 1981 assassination attempt, has died. He was 85.
He died Friday in Washington, of congestive heart failure, according to his wife, Carolyn Parr.
Mr. Reagan was 70 days into his first term when he was shot by John W. Hinckley Jr. while leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel. At the sound of gunfire, Mr. Parr shoved him into the back of the presidential limousine and shouted "Take off!" to the driver. As the limo raced to the White House, the agent inspected Mr. Reagan and found no visible wounds. Moments later, the president began complaining of chest pain and the agent noticed blood on Mr. Reagan's lips.
Mr. Parr redirected the limo to George Washington University Hospital where the president collapsed just steps inside the trauma centre's doors. Doctors determined Mr. Reagan was suffering massive internal bleeding. The president lost more than half of his blood before surgery halted the hemorrhaging. Mr. Reagan's doctors credited Mr. Parr's actions for saving his life.
"If Jerry Parr took the president to the White House, Ronald Reagan would have died," said Joseph Giordano, who was the top trauma surgeon at George Washington University Hospital where Mr. Reagan was treated. "There is no doubt in my mind. Jerry Parr is a hero."
In a 2011 interview, Mr. Parr said the attempt on Mr. Reagan's life was "my best day and my worst day." He blamed complacency among security agents for allowing Mr. Hinckley to get so close to the president and fire all six rounds from his revolver before being subdued.
Three others were wounded. White House Press Secretary Jim Brady, who suffered a grievous head wound, died in 2014 from complications from his injury.
D.C. Police Officer Thomas Delahanty was struck in the back and forced to retire. Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy took a bullet in the chest.
Jerry Studstill Parr was born Sept. 16, 1930, in Montgomery, Ala., the only child of Oliver Parr, a cash register repairman and Patricia Studstill, a beautician. The future agent's course in life was set when he saw the 1939 film The Code of the Secret Service, starring Ronald Reagan as a dashing lieutenant in the force who smashes a counterfeiting ring. Though Mr. Reagan judged the film the worst he ever made, it left a lasting impression on 9-year- old Jerry Parr.
After a stint in the U.S. Air Force and 13 years working as a lineman for an electric company, Mr. Parr in 1962 joined the Secret Service. When President John F. Kennedy was slain, Mr. Parr was dispatched to Dallas for several weeks to guard the wife and mother of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
For six months beginning in October 1973, Mr. Parr guarded Vice-President Gerald Ford. The two attempts on Mr. Ford's life occurred after he became president.
Mr. Parr left the White House in 1982, when he was promoted to assistant director of protective research. He retired in 1985, became a pastor and co-authored a memoir.
The assassination attempt cemented a bond between the Reagans and Mr. Parr.
Reagan's wife, Nancy, recently called Mr. Parr "one of my true heroes."
"He was humble but strong, reserved but confident, and blessed with a great sense of humor," she said in a statement. "It is no wonder that he and my husband got along so well."