 "Who was Clint Hill? US Secret Service agent who leapt to save JFK from assassination, dies")
Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent renowned for his heroic attempt to protect United States President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on November 22, 1963, has passed away at the age of 93.
Hill, who later battled decades of trauma stemming from that tragic day, died on February 21, 2025, at his home in Belvedere, California.
His publisher, Gallery Books, confirmed his passing, though no cause of death was disclosed.
Who was Clint Hill?
Hill’s early life
Born on January 4, 1932, in Larimore, North Dakota, Clint Hill’s early years were marked by significant change.
His biological mother, Alma Peterson, placed him in an orphanage shortly after birth, and he was adopted by a Norwegian couple, Chris and Jennie Hill, who raised him in Washburn, North Dakota. The family’s surname was originally Haugen, which translates to “Hill” in Norwegian, leading to their name change.
Hill graduated from Washburn High School before attending Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. At Concordia, he was an athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball while studying history.
Following his graduation in 1954, Hill was drafted into the US Army, where he trained as a Counterintelligence (CI) Special Agent at the United States Army Intelligence Center in Dundalk, Maryland.
He served with Region IX, 113th Counterintelligence Corps Field Office in Denver until 1957, an experience that laid the foundation for his future role in the US Secret Service.
Hill’s Secret Service career
In 1958, Hill joined the US Secret Service and was first stationed in the Denver office. His first major assignment came when he was selected for US President Dwight D Eisenhower’s security detail.
However, it was under US President John F Kennedy that Hill would become part of history. Assigned to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s protective detail, Hill accompanied her on travels both domestic and abroad.
Hill’s commitment to his duty was evident throughout his service. He was among the agents tasked with safeguarding the Kennedy family at a time when the president often rejected heavy security presence.
His most defining moment came during the motorcade in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963 .
Hill at the assassination of JFK
On that day, US President Kennedy and US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy rode through Dealey Plaza in an open limousine, accompanied by Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie Connally.
Hill was stationed on the left running board of the Secret Service follow-up car, closely monitoring the motorcade.
When the first shot rang out, Hill immediately reacted, recognising that the president had been hit. As the fatal shot struck Kennedy’s head, Hill sprinted toward the moving limousine, leaping onto its rear bumper as it accelerated.
Abraham Zapruder’s now-infamous home movie of the assassination captured the chilling moment when Hill climbed onto the trunk and reached for the First Lady, who had crawled onto the back of the vehicle.
He successfully pushed her back into her seat and shielded both her and the fatally wounded president as the limousine sped to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
His actions, while heroic, left him with deep emotional scars. In testimony before the Warren Commission in 1964, Hill recounted the horror of seeing the president’s head wounds and described Mrs. Kennedy’s blood-soaked appearance.
Despite his bravery, he blamed himself for not being able to prevent the assassination.
Hill post-assassination
Hill remained on Jacqueline Kennedy’s detail until after the 1964 presidential election, later being assigned to US President Lyndon B Johnson . He continued serving at the highest levels of the Secret Service, becoming the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of presidential protection in 1967.
Under US President Richard Nixon , Hill transitioned to protecting Vice President Spiro Agnew before assuming the role of assistant director of the Secret Service for all protection operations.
However, by 1975, Hill retired early due to what he described as severe depression and recurring memories of the assassination.
His trauma was most publicly evident in a 1975 interview with Mike Wallace on CBS’ 60 Minutes. Breaking down in tears, Hill expressed his guilt over the assassination, saying, “If I had reacted about five-tenths of a second faster, maybe a second faster, I wouldn’t be here today,” Hill said.
“You mean you would have gotten there and you would have taken the shot?” Wallace asked. “The third shot, yes, sir,” Hill said. “And that would have been all right with you?” “That would have been fine with me,” Hill responded.
Wallace later called the interview one of the most moving of his career. Hill himself acknowledged that it marked the beginning of his healing process.
Hill’s legacy
Despite the emotional toll, Hill remained engaged in public discourse on the Kennedy assassination and the role of the Secret Service.
He co-authored several books, including Mrs. Kennedy and Me and Five Presidents, detailing his experiences with the First Family and five US presidents. In 2012, he was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame.
Hill’s expertise and firsthand account of the assassination remained in demand, leading to interviews and speaking engagements well into his later years.
In 2018, he was awarded North Dakota’s highest civilian honour, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, recognising his lifetime contributions to public service. A portrait of Hill was added to a Capitol gallery of distinguished North Dakotans.
Hill was married to his wife, Gwen, at the time of the assassination, and the couple had two sons. Later in life, he found companionship with journalist Lisa McCubbin, his co-author on several books. The two married in 2021.
Clint Hill passed away on February 21, 2025, at his home in Belvedere, California. A private funeral service will be held in Washington, DC, at a later date.
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