Oliver Sipple

Oliver William Sipple (born November 20, 1941 in Detroit , Michigan , † February 2, 1989 in San Francisco , California ) was a decorated veteran of the United States Marine Corps . He became known on September 22, 1975 as the life saver of US President Gerald Ford in an assassination attempt in San Francisco.

Early years

Oliver Sipple took part in the fighting in the Vietnam War as a Marine . After being wounded by shrapnel bullets , he had to return home in December 1968 and was treated in a veterans hospital in Philadelphia until March 1970. He later spent another six months in the Veterans Health Administration Hospital in San Francisco and was also there in 1975. Sipple was no longer mentally able to work and therefore received a disability pension . He shared an apartment in the Mission District of San Francisco with a seaman and was involved in local politics, including Harvey Milk's candidacy as an openly gay city ​​council candidate .

The Ford assassination

On September 22, 1975, Oliver Sipple was one of the 3,000 or so people waiting for the incumbent US President Gerald Ford in front of the Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Ford appeared with his bodyguards, but was still relatively unprotected. Sipple noticed a woman next to him drew a pistol and pointed at the President. He threw himself at the assassin Sara Jane Moore , but she still managed to pull the trigger. The bullet missed its target; without Sipple's intervention, the president would probably have been hit.

The " outing " through the media

The police and the Secret Service thanked Sipple at the event; President Ford himself later wrote him a thank you letter and invited him to the White House for Christmas . The media portrayed him as a hero. Sipple asked not to report about his homosexuality, as his family knew nothing about it despite his activities in the San Francisco gay scene and Sipple wanted it to stay that way. The politician and gay activist Harvey Milk, however, described Sipple as a "gay hero" as part of his candidacy for the city council ; his heroism helped to refute stereotypes about homosexuals. Associations of the lesbian and gay movement petitioned newspaper editors to report on Sipple's sexual orientation and portray him as a gay hero . Finally, the San Francisco Chronicle complied with these requests in a column by Herb Caen . Then, editorials from six other newspapers followed suit. Sipple's mother then broke off contact with him. It was only after the mother's death in 1979 that the father resumed contact with his son.

Later years

Both physically and mentally, Oliver Sipple's health deteriorated in the years following the attack. He drank a lot, got a pacemaker, became paranoid, and suicidal. On February 2, 1989, he was found dead in his bed. There were several newspaper clippings in his apartment describing his deed in 1975, and the letter from the White House was framed on the wall. Sipple was buried in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in southern San Francisco. Only 30 people were present at the funeral. Shortly after his death, his friends received another letter from ex-President Ford.

"Mrs. Ford and I express our deepest sympathy in this time of sorrow involving your friend's passing ... "

President Gerald Ford, February, 1989

"Mrs. Ford and I express our deepest condolences at this time of grief associated with the death of your friend ..."

President Gerald Ford, February 1989

In a 2001 interview with columnist Deb Price, Gerald Ford stated, when asked if Sipple was treated differently for being gay:

" As far as I was concerned, I had done the right thing and the matter was ended. I didn't learn until sometime later - I can't remember when - he was gay. I don't know where anyone got the crazy idea I was prejudiced and wanted to exclude gays. "

" As far as I was concerned, I did the right thing and it was over. I didn't find out until later - I can't remember when - that he was gay. I don't know where anyone got the crazy idea that I was biased and would want to exclude gays. "

Ford's decision to join a group for the cooperation of homo- and heterosexuals in the Republican Party at the age of 88 was justified by his wish to refute any rumors about his alleged homophobia that had arisen in connection with Sipple.

Media Ethics and Private Lawsuit

The Chronicle's outing of Oliver Sipple remains a controversial case for journalist ethics and on the one hand raises the question of the appropriateness of reporting on Sipple's private life, but on the other hand also the question of why Sipple's mother reacted so violently to this revelation. Sipple himself brought a $ 15 million court case against Herb Caen, seven well-known and a number of lesser-known newspapers over the publications. The San Francisco Supreme Court dropped the case. Sipple continued his private lawsuits until 1984 when the State Court upheld the ruling.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Detroit News: Gerald Ford - Treat gay couples equally Editorial 2001, by Deb Price
2. ↑ Senator Allan Simpson in CNN interview with Larry King