Meet Oliver Sipple, The Vietnam Veteran Who Saved President Ford's Life -- And Was Punished For It
After disarming an assassin, Oliver Sipple was hailed a hero. But the ensuing media storm outed him as gay and upended his entire life.
One morning in September 1975, 33-year-old ex-Marine Oliver Sipple went for a walk around his San Francisco neighborhood. Within moments, he found himself saving the life of U.S. President Gerald Ford from a deranged female assassin.
Sipple was hailed as a national hero for disarming the shooter, but his heroism was just as quickly overshadowed by scandal when a journalist reported on his homosexuality. Sipple hadn’t even told his family yet.
The national attention would upend his life.
Gordon Stone/AP Photo/San Francisco Examiner
Oliver Sipple (far left) lunges for Sara Jane Moore (right, behind pole) as she tried to kill US President Gerald Ford in September 1975.
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