On the afternoon of March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

After finishing the speech, he exited the hotel.

At 2.27 p.m., Reagan was about to get into his limo when a 25-year-old man named John Hinkley Jr.

aimed his revolver at the president and unleashed

a barrage of bullets. One of those bullets ricocheted off the limo and struck Reagan. In an

instant, Secret Service agent Jerry Parr reacted, grabbed Reagan by the shoulders, and threw

him and himself into the limo. When Parr saw Reagan

coughing blood, he realized the president, who at 69 years old was the oldest president up to that

point, had been injured and ordered the driver to go to George Washington University Hospital.

Thankfully, President Reagan ended up surviving this harrowing incident. Agent

Parr likely saved Reagan's life, first by getting him out of the line of fire, and second, getting

him to the hospital so quickly. He was hailed as a hero and was given a commendation from the U.S.

Congress and a presidential rank award for

meritorious executive, among many other awards.

One of my favorite stories to tell is how Agent Parr saved President Reagan's life,

changing the course of history, but also about his own life story.

It turns out that Parr became interested in being a Secret Service agent when, as a child, he watched the 1939 movie Code of the

Secret Service. The star of the movie? You guessed it. Ronald Reagan. It's one of those great

ironies in American history.

The man who saved President Reagan's life was inspired by a movie President Reagan made.

It's a story I wanted to learn more about and share.

Caring for someone with dementia is one of the toughest journeys, but you don't have to do it alone.

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