President Ford sent a letter of thanks to disabled former Marine and Vietnam War veteran Oliver Sipple, who had stopped Sara Jane Moore's assassination attempt earlier in the week. Earlier in the week Sipple, who was living and working in San Francisco, had been outed as a homosexual by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen who had received tips from homosexual activists Reverend Ray Broshears and Harvey Milk.
Milk knew Sipple and claimed to be a friend of his, but neither man had his permission to reveal his homosexuality and Sipple, who had been badly wounded in Vietnam, had never told his family. As a result, his family disowned him for a time and the stress of the situation was something he never really recovered from. He descended into alcohol and depression and killed himself in 1989.
Milk has come down as a hero, and even briefly had a ship named after him, which was renamed this year. But outing Sipple was a lousy thing to do.
I managed to miss the incident that Sipple is associated with, which was the September 22, 1975 assassination attempt by Sar Jane Moore. Sipple's quick reactions foiled the attempt, combined with the fact that Moore had purchased the handgun she used only that morning, after one she was familiar with was confiscated by the police the prior day.
Three Days of the Condor was released on this day in 1975.
This is an excellent Cold War thriller based on an underground movement in the US that's operating a shadowy independent mission. Robert Redford, who passed away yesterday, plays the lead character. The plot of the film involved Redford's character being a CIA analysts who reads books and steps out during the day, only to find his entire section murdered when he returns. He flees and is pursued by what turns out to be rogue elements of the CIA. Every actors portrayal in the movie is excellent, but the most intriguing character is a European assassin played by Max von Sydow.
Following the Vietnam War, the public was learning a lot about the CIA and frankly the FBI for the first time, all of which made the movie's plot seem credible. Frankly, back where we now are, it seems credible once again.
Oddly enough, the Church Committee revealed that the CIA had a gun designed to shoot toxic pellets to induce a heart attack just prior to this.
The cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show was also released on this day.
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