Clint Hill, the former US Secret Service agent who famously leapt onto President John F. Kennedy’s limousine in a desperate bid to shield him from an assassin’s bullets, has died at the age of 93.
The Secret Service confirmed Hill’s passing at his home in California, paying tribute to his unwavering dedication and exceptional service to the Kennedy family as well as four other US presidents. Hill was part of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s security detail on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open-top car in Dallas, Texas.
Travelling in a vehicle just behind the president’s limousine, Hill reacted swiftly to the gunfire, sprinting onto the back of Kennedy’s car in an attempt to protect the president and the first lady. Despite his heroic efforts, Kennedy was fatally wounded. The moment was immortalised in a widely circulated photograph capturing Hill climbing onto the trunk of the limousine.
Reflecting on the tragedy in an interview with 60 Minutes, Hill expressed regret that he had not moved even faster. “If I had reacted just a little bit quicker,” he said, “I’ll live with that to my grave.” During the frantic ride to the hospital, Hill shielded the president and his wife, but Kennedy was pronounced dead upon arrival.
After serving in the Secret Service for more than two decades, Hill retired at the age of 43. He later became an author, documenting his experiences in several books, including Five Days in November, which detailed the Kennedy assassination, an event he said remained “seared into my mind and soul.” In another book, Five Presidents, he recounted his time protecting US Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford.
Hill’s dedication and heroism left an indelible mark on American history, with his actions on that fateful day in Dallas cementing his legacy as one of the most iconic figures in Secret Service history.
