Leslie Coffelt
Encyclopedia
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
against an armed attack at Blair House
Blair House
Blair House is the official state guest house for the President of the United States. It is located at 1651-1653 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., opposite the Old Executive Office Building of the White House, off the corner of Lafayette Park....
.
Coffelt was wounded by one of the would-be presidential assailants during the assassination attempt
Truman assassination attempt
The assassination attempt on U.S. President Harry S. Truman occurred on November 1, 1950. It was perpetrated by two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, while the President resided at the Blair House. The attempt resulted in the deaths of White House Police...
, in which Puerto Rican nationalists
Puerto Rican independence movement
The Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...
targeted President Truman while he was residing in the Blair House on November 1, 1950. Though mortally wounded by three bullets, Coffelt returned fire moments later and killed the assailant with a single shot to the head.
Background
Coffelt was born to Will Coffelt and Effie Keller in the Shenandoah ValleyShenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
town of Oranda, Virginia
Oranda, Virginia
Oranda is an unincorporated community in Shenandoah County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Reference:...
. As a boy, he was called "Etts" because his younger sister could not pronounce the name "Leslie." His siblings were Harry, Hollis, Norman, and Mildred, called "Midge."
As a boy, Coffelt grew up hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and handling firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s. Coffelt was the second in his family to graduate from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, and he was described by those who knew him as an expert sharpshooter. He was a quiet, good-humored man who was well liked by everyone.
In 1928, Coffelt left Oranda to look for a job in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and became a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department in 1929. He was assigned to Precinct 3, which ran down the length of K Street
K Street (Washington, D.C.)
K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. known as a center for numerous think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups.-Location:...
.
In 1936, he resigned to become a building technician. He met Chessie Elinor Morgan of Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
, who was training to become a nurse. Coffelt and Morgan were married on October 5, 1937, in Prince George's County, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and they moved into an apartment in Washington.
In 1941, Coffelt returned to the Metropolitan Police, and in 1942 he requested and was awarded a transfer to the White House Police Force. In 1942, Coffelt was drafted and assigned to B Company, 300th Infantry Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
, United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Coffelt served less than two years and never made it overseas; the Army gave him a medical discharge. In 1945, he returned to duty with the White House Police Force.
Truman assassination attempt
On November 1, 1950, would-be assassins Griselio TorresolaGriselio Torresola
Griselio Torresola born in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, was one of two Puerto Rican Nationalists who attempted to assassinate United States President Harry Truman. During the attack on the president, Torresola mortally wounded White House policeman Private Leslie Coffelt and wounded two other law...
and Oscar Collazo
Oscar Collazo
Oscar Collazo , was one of two Puerto Ricans who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman.-Early life:...
, who were angry with the treatment of Puerto Rico by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, attempted to enter the Blair House
Blair House
Blair House is the official state guest house for the President of the United States. It is located at 1651-1653 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., opposite the Old Executive Office Building of the White House, off the corner of Lafayette Park....
and assassinate President Truman. At the time, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
was under renovation for major structural problems.
Torresola walked up Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
from the west side while Collazo engaged Secret Service agents and White House policemen from the east. Torresola approached a guard booth at the west corner of the Blair House and fired at Coffelt from close range. Three shots struck Coffelt in the chest and abdomen, mortally wounding him. The fourth shot, a near miss, passed through his policeman's tunic.
Torresola shot two other policemen before running out of ammunition, then moved to the left of the Blair House steps to reload. Coffelt staggered out of his guard booth and fired from 31 feet away, hitting Torresola just behind the ear, killing him instantly. Coffelt limped back to the booth, blacked out, and succumbed to his wounds in a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
four hours later.
Aftermath
In a letter to his cousin, Ethel Noland, dated November 17, 1950, President Truman wrote:I'm sorry I didn’t get to talk to you and (cousin) Nellie at the dinner or after it. But I'm really a prisoner now.
Everybody is much more worried and jittery than I am. I've always thought that if I could get my hands on a would-be assassin he'd never try it again. But I guess that's impossible. The grand guards who were hurt in the attempt on me didn't have a fair chance. The one who was killed was just cold bloodedly murdered before he could do anything. But his assassin did not live but a couple of minutes – one of the S.S. (Secret Service) men put a bullet in one ear and it came out the other. I stuck my head out the upstairs window to see what was going on. One of the guards yelled, "Get back." I did, then dressed and went downstairs. I was the only calm one in the house. You see, I've been shot at by experts and unless your name's on the bullet you needn't be afraid – and that of course you can't find out, so why worry.
The S.S. chief said to me, "Mr. President, don't you know that when there's an Air Raid Alarm you don't run out and look up, you go for cover." I saw the point but it was over then.
Hope it won't happen again. They won't let me go walking or even cross the street on foot. I say 'they' won't, but it causes them so much anguish that I conform – a hard thing for a Truman to do as you know, particularly when he could force them to do as he wants. But I want no more guards killed.
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
to go to Puerto Rico, where she received condolences and expressions of sorrow from various Puerto Rican leaders and crowds. Mrs. Coffelt responded with a speech absolving the island's people of blame for the acts of Collazo and Torresola.
Oscar Collazo was sentenced to death, although Truman commuted
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
the sentence to life imprisonment. The sentence was later commuted to time served by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in 1979, granting Collazo his release. Collazo returned to Puerto Rico, where he would die in 1994.
Private Coffelt was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
on November 4, 1950 in Section 17, Site 17719-59. His epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
reads, "White House Policeman: Who Gave His Life in Defense of the President of the United States During an Assassination Attempt at the Blair House, Washington, D.C." To this day, Coffelt is one of only four Secret Service members to take a bullet while defending the President, the others being Donald Birdzell and Joseph Downs, wounded during the same incident, and Tim McCarthy
Tim McCarthy
Timothy J. McCarthy is the current police chief of Orland Park, Illinois and a former member of the United States Secret Service. He is most famous for turning into the line of fire, shielding President Ronald Reagan and being wounded by one of John Hinckley, Jr.'s .22 caliber bullets in the 1981...
. McCarthy was wounded in the abdomen by John Hinckley, Jr during the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt.
A plaque at the Blair House commemorates Coffelt's sacrifice, heroism, and fidelity to his duty and his country. The day room for the U.S. Secret Service's Uniformed Division
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
at the Blair House is named for Coffelt as well.