Oliver Wellington Sipple was born in Detroit in 1941 and was a decorated Marine disabled in the Vietnam War. He is most known for intervening in an assassination attempt against President Gerald Ford in San Francisco on September 22, 1975. Following the assassination attempt, Sipple gained national attention and it was revealed that he was a homosexual. Though active in the LGBTQ community in San Francisco, Sipple had kept his sexual orientation secret from his family and employers and did not desire his private life to be made public. He lost a lawsuit against several media outlets for violation of privacy. While Sipple became a sort of hero in the gay rights movement, the unwanted attention had detrimental effects on him personally. He was discovered dead in his apartment on February 2, 1989, only 47 years old.

Golden Gate National Cemetery

Newspaper clipping after Sipple stopped an assassination attempt on President Ford on Sep 22, 1975

On Sep 22, 1975 Oliver Sipple saved President Ford from an assassin with a handgun. This is the letter President Ford sent to him.

OLIVER W SIPPLE

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