A former Secret Service officer who helped thwart the attempted assassination of President Harry Truman has died.
Floyd Boring, 92, died Feb. 1 of congestive heart failure at his home in Silver Spring, Md.
Boring changed the course of history when he and White House police officers took on two armed men during a shootout near Blair House, where Truman was staying during White House renovations.
Boring had just gotten to work Nov. 1, 1950, when the Puerto Rican nationalists arrived to kill Truman. One of the would-be assassins, Oscar Collazo, shot a White House police officer. When they heard the gunshots, Boring and another White House officer took cover and returned fire.
Boring shot Collazo near the front steps of Blair House. The other gunman, Griselio Torresola, was killed by White House Police Officer Leslie Coffelt, who was fatally wounded.
Boring's long career included service to several presidents. He escorted President Franklin D. Roosevelt's body to Hyde Park, N.Y. by train, and he often traveled with President John F. Kennedy.
Boring retired from the Secret Service in 1967, but he continued working in the security business.
Boring's wife, Ruth Lehner Boring, died in 2005. He is survived by daughters Kate Elliott of Fairfax and Judy Orzell of Silver Spring and one granddaughter.
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