The Public Hero Who Saved President Ford from a Bullet Was Rewarded With Humiliation And His Life Publicly Destroyed

5His mother disowned him

Sipple’s mother disowned him when she read about him in the media. He was constantly outed after that. In Detroit, his family and friends were shocked. His family became the local subject of gossip where his fathers and brothers were even harassed and jeered at work. Sipple was to become an estranged member of the family. 

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6President Ford thanked him in a letter but didn’t invite him to the white house

President Ford thanked Sipple with a letter and that was to be an extremely impersonal touch for the man who had saved his life. But, then Ford was being politically correct at the time. Ford denied that he had shunned Sipple because of his orientation and Sipple didn’t really mind. He kept the letter carefully. 

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7Harvey Milk thought he would get attention for Sipple

The other reason why Harvey Milk leaked the information was that he felt he would get acknowledgment for Sipple’s act of heroism. Stories from the San Francisco Chronicle spoke about how Sipple was a victim of prejudice. The only problem was that this was done without Sipple’s consent. Below is the woman who tried to assassinate President Ford. Sarah Jane Moore. 

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8Sipple slipped into alcoholism

The negative publicity made Sipple sink into depression. In spite of support from his brother, he took to drinking, becoming an alcoholic. Their father had told his brother George to forget he even had a brother, but George was always proud of his brother. Oliver soon started regretting that he had ever saved Ford. 

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