Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent immortalized for leaping onto President John F. Kennedy’s limousine moments after his assassination in 1963, died Friday at age 93. His death in Belvedere, California, closes a chapter on one of America’s most visceral symbols of courage and unresolved grief.
Hill’s split-second reaction—captured in the haunting Zapruder film—showed him sprinting toward the president’s car as gunfire erupted in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza. “If I had reacted just a little bit quicker… I’ll live with that to my grave,” he told CBS’ Mike Wallace in a raw 1975 60 Minutes interview, weeping openly. For decades, Hill blamed himself for failing to shield JFK from the fatal shot.
“I could have taken the third shot. That would have been fine with me,” Hill confessed during the interview, which Wallace later called one of his career’s most moving moments.
Assigned to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy that day, Hill’s career trajectory shifted irrevocably:
- Promoted to White House protective detail lead after the assassination
- Retired at 43 due to severe depression and PTSD
- Became a reluctant public figure through books and speeches
In later years, Hill co-authored memoirs like Mrs. Kennedy and Me, detailing his bond with the First Family. His 2021 marriage to collaborator Lisa McCubbin Hill—whom he called his “once-in-a-lifetime love” Historians note Hill’s story reshaped public understanding of presidential protection failures. Clint Eastwood’s thriller In the Line of Fire drew inspiration from his anguish, underscoring how trauma intersects with duty. A private Washington, D.C., funeral will honor Hill, whose heroism remains etched into America’s collective memory—and whose vulnerability humanized the unsung agents behind the badge.