I must also thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Zeno and Margaret McCabe, a paralegal, in the District of Columbia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. At my request and while juggling the demands of a busy job, McCabe dug through dusty and poorly labeled files and boxes in search of records, transcripts, and trial exhibits. She almost always returned with a trove of useful documents. Without McCabe’s help, I would not have been able to tell Hinckley’s story in such detail. I also must thank the clerks of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—and Bryant Johnson, in particular—for tracking down Hinckley’s long-missing trial transcript, even after I had sadly concluded that it had been misplaced and lost to history.
I could not possibly have written about President Reagan and his experience of the assassination attempt without interviewing those who served him. I am enormously grateful to former national security advisor Richard V. Allen for always taking my calls, answering my questions, and letting me read his extensive notes from his time in the White House (he is one of the most fastidious note takers I have ever met). He also graciously granted me access to more than four hours of audiotape recordings he made in the Situation Room on the afternoon of the assassination attempt. The tapes provide a remarkable record—not only of what transpired in one of the government’s most sensitive rooms but also of what was happening around the world. I also must thank James A. Baker III, Edwin Meese III, Richard Williamson, Mari Maseng (Will), Ken Khachigian, Margaret Tutwiler, and David Gergen, among others, all of whom offered vivid recollections of March 30, 1981, and who helped me better understand Reagan and his presidency.
At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Ray Wilson, Michael Pinckney, and Steve Branch deserve special recognition for pointing me to documents, photographs, and audio recordings that would have taken me weeks of sleuthing to find on my own. I would also like to thank Joanne Drake, the chief of staff for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, for allowing me to inspect the handwritten notes passed to GW’s doctors and nurses by the president after the shooting. It is difficult to describe the extraordinary experience of holding one of these notes and tracing Reagan’s scribbles across the page with a finger.
This book could never have been written without those who taught me to report and write: Don Cheeseman, the late Richard Drozd, John Kupetz, Tom McGinty, Joel Bewley, Peter Callas, John Fairhall, Bill Ordine, Michael James, Michael Gray, Tony Barbieri, Bill Marimow, Bill Miller, Gabe Escobar, Andy Mosher, Steven Levingston, Gene Fynes, the late Marcia Greene, Lynn Medford, Carol Morello, Mike Semel, and Kevin Merida. At the Washington Post, my professional home for the last six years, I received constant support and encouragement from the best newspapering staff in the world. Marcus Brauchli and Emilio Garcia-Ruiz did not hesitate to grant me an extended leave to write this book; James McLaughlin, the Post’s associate general counsel, was instrumental in helping me obtain records from the normally tightfisted Secret Service; and Eddy Palanzo, a researcher, helped me find many of the wonderful photographs that appear in the book. And like every Post reporter who has come before me and written a book, I owe heartfelt thanks to the company’s chairman, Donald E. Graham—a tireless advocate for aggressive local news coverage and a close reader of crime stories—for providing an amazing place for reporters to practice their craft.
To say that writing a book is a team effort is an understatement. My own squad of able researchers and transcriptionists—James de Haan, Matt Castello, Julie Tate, and Marian Sullivan—were instrumental in ensuring that this project was completed on time. My agent, Rafe Sagalyn, taught me how to write a book proposal and got me to think like an author, not a newspaper reporter. My publisher, Henry Holt and Company, showed a surprising degree of confidence in a first-time author, and for that I must thank its president, Stephen Rubin. Others at Holt, including Maggie Richards, Maggie Sivon, Emi Ikkanda, Meryl Levavi, and Chris O’Connell, put in long hours to streamline, package, and market the book; meanwhile, copy editor Jolanta Benal gave the manuscript a thorough and much-appreciated scrubbing. Finally, I owe an unquantifiable debt to my editor, John Sterling, who taught me how to write a narrative history and was always levelheaded, optimistic, and understanding—especially when I was not. The readers of this book have benefited greatly from his keen eye and deft pen.
The most important tributes belong to those who have supported me throughout this two-year odyssey, especially my mother and father, Kay and Del Wilber Jr.; my sister, Lindsay Guthrie, and her husband, Phillip Guthrie; my uncle, Rick Wilber; and my good friends Diane Sullivan and Zachary Coile. My two young boys, Quentin and Ryan, always made me smile when I walked in the front door, no matter how frustrating the day. But one person more than any other deserves thanks for helping me complete this project: my wife, Laura Sullivan. She never failed to offer candid advice, critical assessments, and unflagging encouragement. She was the first to bet on me, and I can confidently say that without her there would be no Rawhide Down.
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Aaron, Benjamin
bullet extracted by
operation performed by
post-op recovery and
Reagan’s condition evaluated by
reunion with Reagan
ABC News
Adelberg, David
Afghanistan
Soviet invasion of
AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department
Agnew, Spiro
Ahearn, Rick
Ainsley, Michael
Allen, Pat
Allen, Richard V.
background of
Brady and
Bush and
learns of assassination attempt
nuclear football and
resignation of
Schmidt call and
Situation Room and
succession question and
arms limitation treaties
Arthur, Chester A.
Assassin’s Diary, An (Bremer)
Baker, James A., III “Jim”
aftermath and
background of
Bush and
at hospital
learns of assassination attempt
press and
Reagan discusses shooting with
Reagan’s first official day after surgery and
succession question and
Bates, Joe
Bell, Joanne
Bentsen, Beryl Ann (Mrs.)
Berlin Wall
Reagan visit to
torn down
blue-collar workers
Booth, John Wilkes
Brady, James “Jim”
background of
condition of, misreported
at hospital after shooting
operated on
Reagan learns about condition of
Reagan speech recognizing
recovery of
shooting of
Situation Room informed about
Brady, Sarah
Brady Law (1993)
Bremer, Arthur
Brezhnev, Leonid
Broder, David
Brokaw, Tom
Brzezinski, Zbigniew
Bullock, Joe
Bush, Barbara
Bush, George H. W.
background of
code name for
elections of 1980 and
learns about assassination attempt
nuclear football and
as president
relationship with Reagan
returns to D.C.
in Situation Room and press statement of
succession question and
travels to Texas
as vice president
Callaghan, James
Cannon, Lou
; Carter, Jimmy
code name for
Hinckley stalks
Secret Service and
Casey, William
Catcher in the Rye, The (Salinger)
CBS News
Central America
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Cheney, Dick
Cheyney, Kathleen
Chicago Cubs
China
Chmiel, George
Churchill, Winston
Clinton, Bill
Code of the Secret Service, The (film)
Cold War
end of
Colo, Stephen T.
Colombani, Paul
Cowley, R Adams
Cuban missile crisis
dairy bill
Darman, Richard
Davis, Loyal
Davis, Patti (daughter)
DeAtley, Craig
Deaver, Michael K.
aftermath of
background of
at hospital
Reagans’s first official day after surgery and
defense condition (DEFCON) levels
Delahanty, Thomas
Reagan’s speech thanking
retirement of
shot
De Niro, Robert
Devastator bullets
Dole, Bob
Donaldson, Sam
Donovan, Catherine
Donovan, Ray
Dunne, Irene
Edelstein, Sol
Edmondson, Cathy
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
elections
of 1964
of 1976
of 1980
of 1984
Elizabeth II, queen of England
El Salvador
Engle, Ed
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
federal spending
Fielding, Fred
Fields, W. C.
Fischer, David
Ford, Gerald
assassination attempt on
Foster, Jodie
Foster Grandparents
Friedman, Paul L.
Garber, Ted
Garfield, James
assassination of
Gens, David
George Washington University Medical Center
decision to bring Reagan to
ER renamed Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine
ER revamped
new facility built
Reagan arrives at
Georgine, Robert
Gergen, David
Giordano, Joseph
Reagan’s correspondence with
Goldberg, Woody
Goldwater, Barry
Gompers, Samuel
Gorbachev, Mikhail
Gordon, Mary Ann
grain embargo
Granger, Herbert
Great Britain
Green, Bill
Gridiron Club dinner
Guy, Johnny
Haig, Alexander
aftermath and
background of
Bush contacted by
DEFCON levels and
learns of assassination attempt
press conference of
Situation Room discussions and
succession question and
Hannaford, Peter
Harper, John C.
Hellcats of the Navy (film)
Hernandez, Bob
Hinckley, Jo Ann
Hinckley, John W., Jr.
actions of, leading to assassination attempt
arrest and questioning of, after assassination attempt
arrest and release of, in Nashville
assassination attempt and capture of
background of
Carter stalked by
decides to assassinate Reagan
Foster stalked by
guns carried by
Reagan learns identity of
Reagan prays for
trial and confinement of
Hinckley, John W. “Jack”
Hines, Cyndi
Humphrey, Hubert
“I Have a Rendezvous with Death” (Seeger)
Iran-contra scandal
Iranian hostage crisis
Jacobson, Jeff
Johnson, Judith
Johnson, Lyndon B.
Justice Department
Kennedy, Jacqueline
Kennedy, John F.
assassination of
code name for
Kennedy, John F., Jr.
Kennedy, Robert F.
assassination of
Khachigian, Ken
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
assassination of
Kings Row (film)
Kissinger, Henry
Knute Rockne All American (film)
Kobrine, Arthur
Koenig, Wendy
Latin America
Laxalt, Paul
Lenin, V. I.
Lennon, John
assassination of
Lichtman, Manfred “Dutch”
Lincoln, Abraham
assassination of
Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team
Lost Weekend (film)
Maryland, University of, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services (Shock Trauma)
Maseng, Mari
McCann, Maureen
McCarthy, Dennis
McCarthy, Timothy
aftermath of
shot
treatment and recovery of
McKinley, William
Meese, Edwin, III
background of
Bush and
at hospital
learns of assassination attempt
Reagan’s first official day after surgery and
resignation of
succession question and
MGM
Middle East
Milland, Ray
Mitchell, Joyce
Mize, Marisa
Mondale, Walter
Morales, George
Muratti, Jose
Murphy, Dan
Murphy, George
Myers, Eddie
National Baseball Hall of Fame
National Security Council
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
news media
assassination attempt first reported by
doctors and
Haig and
at Hilton before shooting
inaccuracy of reports of
White House statements to, about shooting
Nixon, Richard M.
resignation of
Nofziger, Lyn
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
nuclear weapons
Obama, Barack
O’Leary, Dennis
Olson, Theodore
Olympic Games of 1980 (Moscow)
boycott of
O’Neill, Thomas Phillip, Jr. “Tip”
O’Neill, William
Opfer, George
Orchard, Stetson
Oswald, Lee Harvey
Oswald, Marguerite
Paine, Thomas
Parr, Carolyn
Parr, Jerry
actions of, during assassination attempt
aftermath of
background and training of
directs Reagan to hospital after shooting
guards Reagan on day of shooting
at Hilton with Reagan
at hospital
Paul, Kathy
People
Pett, Stephen
Phillips Collections
Plante, Bill
Poland
Pollard, Ed
presidential succession
documents prepared
Haig’s misunderstanding of
temporary transfer of authority and
Pri
ce, G. Wesley
Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner
Ragle, Henry
Ramos, Carolyn
Reagan, Maureen (daughter)
Reagan, Michael (son)
Reagan, Nancy Davis (wife)
activities of, before shooting
aftermath and
arrives at hospital
background and marriage of
Bush and
code name for
Deaver and
George Washington Hospital ER renaming and
learns of assassination attempt
Oval Office and
Reagan’s operation and recovery and
Reagan, Ron (son)
Reagan, Ronald
achievements of
actions of, before shooting
appearance and fitness of
arrival and speech of, at Hilton
arrives at hospital
assassination attempt on
assassination investigation and
Brady’s condition reported to
bullet extracted from chest of
Bush as vice president and
character and courage of
children of
code name for
diary of
early life and acting career of
early political career of
election and inauguration of
first marriage of
first official day of, after surgery
foreign policy and
Gorbachev and
Haig and
Hinckley arrest and
Hinckley stalks
horseback riding and
hospital ER care and diagnosis of
hospital ER renamed after
humor of, and medical team
marriage of, to Nancy
medical team and decision to operate on
medical team and operation on
Nancy and, in hospital
National Baseball Hall of Fame speech by
near death of, after shooting
near death of, in early life
nuclear threat and
Oval Office and
Parr examines wounds of, on way to hospital
Parr’s actions save life of
popularity of, as president
postpresidency of, and death
presidential campaign of 1980 and
presidential limo of
presidential style of, and Troika
press and
recovery of
religion and
returns to White House
reunions of, with medical and Secret Service teams
Screen Actors Guild and
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