Clint Hill: Famous Kennedy bodyguard has died

Clint Hill (1932-2025), the Secret Service agent who jumped onto the presidential limousine after the fatal shooting of John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), is dead. He died on February 21 at the age of 93, as reported by "CBS News" among others . Hill died at his home in Belvedere, California.

The footage of Hill's actions during the Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963 went around the world. It shows Hill's desperate attempt to protect the president who had already been hit. Hill subsequently received awards and a promotion from the Secret Service for his actions in Dallas. Nevertheless, the agent is said to have felt guilty about Kennedy's death for decades. According to media reports, he blamed himself for not having reacted quickly enough and claimed that he would have given his life to save the president.

"If only I had reacted a little faster. And I could have, I think," Hill said in 1975 in an emotional interview with Mike Wallace (1918-2012) on the show "60 Minutes": "And I'll have to live with that until I die." Shortly before, Hill had retired at the age of 43 on the advice of his doctors.

Only recently has Hill begun to make peace with events and accept what happened. Last year, when CBS correspondent Seth Doane asked him if he still blamed himself, Hill replied, "Well, maybe I could have done something. I don't know anymore."

Clint Hill was on the left running board of the vehicle driving behind the President's limousine in Dallas. The bodyguard later told the Warren Commission that he reacted after hearing a gunshot and seeing the President slump in his seat. Kennedy was fatally shot in the head before Hill could reach his car.

Footage from the time shows Hill jumping from the Secret Service car, grabbing a handle on the trunk of the presidential limousine and pulling himself up as the driver accelerated. The bodyguard helped First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994), who had climbed into the trunk, back into her seat as the limousine sped away.

Hill's career after the assassination

After the tragedy, Hill worked as a senior Secret Service agent in the White House and later as deputy director of the Secret Service. However, he reportedly had to retire early because he suffered from severe depression. The 1993 Clint Eastwood thriller "In the Line of Fire" is partly based on Hill's story.

SpotOnNews