2025’s “Top” Ten Losses: Clint Hill (#3)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (82454)
United States
January 29, 2026 11:27am CST
Oh, does Chuy’s taste good after ten days away!!! Thankfully, they were busy enough to not have to declare bankruptcy while I was out sick and snowed in. 
Here’s another person we lost in 2025 who is known for his role in one of America’s darkest days.
#3: Clint Hill
If you know about the JFK assassination, you know his name. If you’ve seen the footage of the immediate aftermath of the shooting, you’ve seen him. Clint Hill was a Secret Service agent, assigned to protect First Lady Jackie Kennedy.
There were no Secret Service agents on JFK’s car at that fateful moment. They were in a car behind the presidential limousine. After the shots, Hill jumped off the Secret Service car running board and jumped onto the trunk of the limousine, just as Jackie was trying to climb out of the back seat. (If you’ve read accounts of the day, you’ve read why she was trying to get onto the back of the car…I’ll spare you the details here.)
Hill said (again, sparing the details) he took one look at the president and turned back toward the other Secret Service agents and gave a thumbs-down sign. He then sprawled over Mrs. Kennedy for the ride to Parkland Hospital. (Think about that: it has been reported that the limousine was going about 70 MPH, and Hill had nothing holding him down on the back of that car but the muscles in his arms!)
Hill had a lot of guilt for a long time. He refused to go back to Dallas, until 1990, the year after the Sixth Floor Museum opened. After that, he managed to make peace with himself and history, realizing there really was nothing that could have been done to save Kennedy.
Hill retired from the Secret Service at the ripe old age of 43. He also opened up about the events in print, writing Five Days in November, and participating in a number of oral history interviews with the Sixth Floor Museum.
There are fewer and fewer individuals left who were eyewitnesses to history. Clint Hill was one of the most significant.
Clint Hill
Born Clinton J. Hill, January 4, 1932, Larimore, North Dakota
Died February 21, 2025, Belvedere, California (COPD) (age 93)
A CBS tribute to Hill:
Here’s another person we lost in 2025 who is known for his role in one of America’s darkest days.
#3: Clint Hill
If you know about the JFK assassination, you know his name. If you’ve seen the footage of the immediate aftermath of the shooting, you’ve seen him. Clint Hill was a Secret Service agent, assigned to protect First Lady Jackie Kennedy.
There were no Secret Service agents on JFK’s car at that fateful moment. They were in a car behind the presidential limousine. After the shots, Hill jumped off the Secret Service car running board and jumped onto the trunk of the limousine, just as Jackie was trying to climb out of the back seat. (If you’ve read accounts of the day, you’ve read why she was trying to get onto the back of the car…I’ll spare you the details here.)
Hill said (again, sparing the details) he took one look at the president and turned back toward the other Secret Service agents and gave a thumbs-down sign. He then sprawled over Mrs. Kennedy for the ride to Parkland Hospital. (Think about that: it has been reported that the limousine was going about 70 MPH, and Hill had nothing holding him down on the back of that car but the muscles in his arms!)
Hill had a lot of guilt for a long time. He refused to go back to Dallas, until 1990, the year after the Sixth Floor Museum opened. After that, he managed to make peace with himself and history, realizing there really was nothing that could have been done to save Kennedy.
Hill retired from the Secret Service at the ripe old age of 43. He also opened up about the events in print, writing Five Days in November, and participating in a number of oral history interviews with the Sixth Floor Museum.
There are fewer and fewer individuals left who were eyewitnesses to history. Clint Hill was one of the most significant.
Clint Hill
Born Clinton J. Hill, January 4, 1932, Larimore, North Dakota
Died February 21, 2025, Belvedere, California (COPD) (age 93)
A CBS tribute to Hill:Your browser isn’t supported anymore. Update it to get the best YouTube experience and our latest features. Learn moreRemind me later
7 people like this
5 responses
@MarieCoyle (53996)
•
4h
As you know, I am a huge history buff. I read his book, Five Days In November. Very good and it is from his own perspective, and worth reading. I was a little girl, but I remember moments from that day. Grandpa never cried, but he did that day, and so did Grandma.
Rest easy, Clint.
@rebelann (115740)
• El Paso, Texas
5h
All I remember about that day is that our teacher asked us to bow our heads in prayer because the predident had been shot, she didn't tell us he was killed, that I found out later.
RIP Clint
