Thoughts in a Time of Crisis
Spring 2006, Vol. 38, No. 1 | Pieces of History
Vice President George Bush's notes regarding the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
Twenty-five years ago, on March 30, 1981, Vice President George H.W. Bush sat aboard Air Force Two bound for Washington, D.C., collecting his thoughts. Earlier that afternoon, President Ronald Reagan had been shot by John Hinkley, and the nation anxiously awaited news of the 70-year-old President’s condition.
Bush had started his morning in Fort Worth, Texas, where he unveiled a historic marker at the newly remodeled Hyatt Regency Hotel. In 1963, the hotel, then the Hotel Texas, was where President John F. Kennedy had spent his last night before traveling to Dallas on November 22. After attending a luncheon with the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, he planned to fly to Austin to meet with Governor Bill Clements and address the Texas state legislature.
On his way to the state capital, the Vice President learned of the assassination attempt on the President. Immediately, all remaining events were canceled, and after a short stop in Austin for refueling, Air Force Two took off for Andrews Air Force Base, outside Washington.
The Vice President, second in line to the presidency, wrote down his thoughts on a flight information card. He recalled that the “enormity of it comes upon me 20 minutes out of Austin” and prayed for Reagan’s recovery. Just below the midpoint of the card, he wrote the word “unknown” and underlined it twice.
The jottings note the times at which he spoke with his wife, Barbara, and with First Lady Nancy Reagan and when the plane landed at Andrews.
What is striking about this historical record is its immediacy. This card, whose original purpose was simply to give passengers basic flight information such as destination, arrival time, and altitude, now intimately connects us to a critical time in our nation’s past. As Vice President Bush recorded his thoughts and the development of events as they unfolded, he gave us history in “real time.”