Leo J. Ryan

by John L. Swainston

Murdered on the tarmac.
Jonestown, Guyana, South America.

He wanted to save those captured by cult leader Jim Jones.
The messiah of the Peoples Temple.
A San Francisco evangelist group.

But he failed by order of that Devil.
Becoming the first and only Congressman
to be assassinated in office.

Before Mr. Ryan became a congressman, he was a teacher.
One of my teachers.
He taught me how to drive.
He taught me about politics and politicians.
Took a group of us to a Kennedy rally in 1960.
I would work at a Kennedy election headquarters,
introduced by Mr. Ryan.

As a teacher he treated all students with respect.
Even the ones that did not return that respect.
When around him I felt like a man.

The day he died – I cried.