When Clint Hill was assigned to protect first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, he thought “My whole career is gone.”
The former Secret Service agent had previously served on the detail for President Dwight D. Eisenhower and would go on to serve under five more presidents. But little did he know that protecting Mrs. Kennedy would be one of the most interesting jobs he ever took on.
“I didn’t think it would be interesting at all,” he told NBC’s Jacob Soboroff. “But I was completely wrong.”
Hill’s new memoir co-written with his wife Lisa McCubbin, My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, reveals some new never before seen photos along with stories he’s never shared before. The book is a sequel to Mrs. Kennedy and Me, which he released in 2012.
Hill, now 90, rarely left Jackie’s side and was privy to information very few knew.
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In his book he shared how it was Jackie who convinced the French government to loan the Mona Lisa to the United States in 1963.
During his assignment he captured a lot of photos of Jackie Kennedy, in a way the public never got to see her. Many casual ones that made her appear as if she was just your average mother of two.
READ MORE:
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An image of her and her sister Lee sitting on top of a camel in Pakistan “captured her essence.”
“There was nothing she wouldn’t try or do,” Hill said. “She loved life and wanted to live it to the fullest.”
Among the many travels he took with Mrs. Kennedy was the fateful trip to Dallas on November 22, 1963.
When the first shots rang out it was Hill who ran and jumped on to the back of the car carrying John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy.
“I was running as fast as I could, my arm reaching for the handholds on the trunk but it was like my legs were in quicksand. Mrs. Kennedy climbing out of the back seat, her terrified eyes looking but not seeing me, like I wasn’t there,” he wrote, recalling the moments after JFK was shot.
“I still have a sense of not having fulfilled my responsibility.”
In his new memoir Hill also describes a time a little more than a month after JFK’s assassination when he attempted suicide.
It was December 29, 1963, and he was with Jackie, Caroline, and John as they visited extended family in Palm Beach, Florida. He found himself drawn to the ocean and proceeded to walk into the water.
“Tears streamed down my cheeks, and as the cold water enveloped my legs, and then my chest, and up to my shoulders, the tears turned to sobs,” he wrote. “I wanted the water to swallow me up.”
He heard someone call his name, and then a police officer pulled him from the surf.
As Jackie transitioned from the White House to life in Manhattan, Hill stayed by her until he was reassigned to protect President Lyndon B. Johnson.
While the two shared an “indescribable” bond, he knew he couldn’t protect her forever.
“My job and my allegiance was to the US Secret Service, not to an individual.”
“There were a lot of good days when I was assigned to Mrs. Kennedy,” he said. “There were some of the worst days one can imagine, but there were so many good days. And that’s what I remember, the good days.”
What a life Clint Hill has lived. I’m so grateful he was willing to go through his treasures and memories and relive some of his worst days to share insight into one of the most wonderful first ladies we ever had.
Please share if you’re a fan of Jacqueline Kennedy.
