On November 1, 1950, President Harry Truman had moved into the Blair House due to the restoration of the White House. His new home was being carefully watched by several uniformed guards, as well as the Secret Service agents. As one of these guards, Donald Birdzell, was manning his station at the bottom of the outside stairs, he heard a metallic click. He glanced at that direction and came face to face with a Hispanic man aiming a F-38 automatic pistol at him.
Birdzell jumped into the street just as the gunman fired at him. He wanted to draw gunfire away from the Blair House to prevent the President being shot by a stray bullet. Birdzell returned fire at the gunman, who then shot him in both legs. As he laid on the road, Birdzell shot the gunman in the chest as he reloaded his weapon. The gunman landed at the bottom of the steps, bleeding and unconscious.
In the meantime, other guards and Secret Service agent had heard the commotion. While some raced to aid Birdzell, most were distracted by the discovery of a second gunman. He had run up to a lone guard in the west sentry booth. The guard, Leslie Coffett, was shot multiple times and died a short while later. The second gunman was shot dead with a bullet wound in the head after a brief fire fight.
During this time, President Truman had awakened from his nap and wanted to know what was happening outside. He peered out the window and looked down at the Secret Service agents. They screamed for him to get back because they feared there might be another gunman in the area.
The would-be assassins were members of the Nationalist Party in Puerto Rico. Their identities were established as the wounded Oscar Collazo and his dead partner, Griselio Torresola. Many security personnel could not believe they attempted to kill the President in his own home. With over 20 Secret Service agents and guards surrounding the Blair House, the assailants hadnΓÇÖt even gone past the security perimeter.
Truman was unfazed by the incident. Several hours after the assassination attempt, he went to a public unveiling of a statue. As he gave a speech, he made no mention of the incident.
When Collazo recovered from his wounds, he was put on trial. Letters found in his possession during the assassination attempt tied him to the President of the Nationalist Party, Albizu Campos. However, no official link between Campos and the assassination was found. Collazo insisted that he and Torresola were working alone. CollazoΓÇÖs wife, Rosa, was arrested briefly and released.
Collazo said he had attempted the murder for the love of his country, Puerto Rico. He sermonized at the trial asking that his homeland be declared an independent republic. When convicted he stated, I didnΓÇÖt come here to plead for my life. I came here to plead for the cause of the liberty of my people.
He was given the death sentence for the murder of Coffet. Collazo refused to make a plea for clemency, but Truman commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. On September 10, 1979 President Carter commuted his sentence to time served. He was released from prison and returned to his native Puerto Rico.
