How Ronald Reagan Tried To Calm A 1983 Hostage Situation At Augusta National Golf Club

Charlie Harris, jokingly known as "Smiley" because he never smiled, knew the Augusta course. When the 45-year-old was younger, he worked at a concession stand during the Masters Tournament, the famed golf event held every April. Things hadn't been going well for Harris of late. His beloved father, a retired Augusta police detective, had died in May after a long illness, and then Harris lost the job he'd had for 20 years at a paper mill after being accused of coming to work under the influence of alcohol.

Then, on the morning of October 22, 1983, while having his first drink of the day, he saw on the news that U.S. Steel planned to lay off thousands of employees due to foreign competition, and something inside of Harris snapped. After his second drink, he headed for the golf course. A friend of his had mentioned President Ronald Reagan was there that day, and Harris wanted to discuss with Reagan the plight of the unemployed "eye to eye," per the Associated Press. "I just wanted to talk to him," Harris told Golf Digest. "I was protesting our government giving our jobs to foreign people."