It’s a Hollywood myth that Secret Service agents take an oath swearing to lay down their lives for the President. If an agent sacrifices their life for the President, they do so voluntarily.

Agent Leslie Coffelt died protecting President Harry Truman in 1950 when two Puerto Rican nationalists stormed a house Truman was living in while the White House underwent renovations. In their attempt to assassinate the President, they shot Coffelt three times. Before he died from his injuries, Coffelt returned fire, shooting one would-be assassin in the head.