November 22, 1963 remains one of the most tragic and indelible dates in the history of the United States. That day, in Dallas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while crossing the streets of the city on a parade aboard a Lincoln Continental discovery. Among the key figures of that moment, often forgotten by the general public, there is the agent of the Secret Service Clint Hill, whose name returns to the limelight after his recent death at the age of 93, on February 21.
The image of Clint Hill who launches on the presidential limousine is one of the most iconic of the attack. Hill, assigned to the protection of the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, sat on the back predellino of the escort car when he heard the rifle shots. He reacted immediately and rushed to the back of the car in an attempt to protect the president, now mortally hit. His intervention, however heroic, was in vain: the bullets had already reached Kennedy in the head and throat. Hill still managed to climb the limousine and to cover the body of the First Lady, while the car accelerated towards Parkland Memorial Hospital. The agent remained alongside Jackie Kennedy even in the following hours, becoming one of the most direct witnesses of the pain and shock that affected the nation on that tragic day.
Clint Hill never recovered from that day. For decades the fault of the incident took place, tormenting for not being able to intervene in time. “If I had reacted a little faster, maybe I could have … I will live with this thought until death“He said in a heartbreaking interview with CBS in 1975. This sense of guilt led him to a deep personal and professional crisis, culminating in his retirement anticipated by the Secret Service.
Hill fell into a long depression and for years was isolated from the world. Only after many decades did he find the strength to tell his experience, facing the trauma that had marked him throughout his life. Over the years, he participated in several interviews and wrote more books to offer his point of view on what happened.
Dallas’s attack: a tragedy never completely clarified
Kennedy’s murder sparked an imposing official investigation. According to the Warren Commission, the president was hit by three rifle shots fired by Lee Harvey Oswald, compost on the sixth plan of the Texas School Book Depository. However, Many conspiracy theories questioned this version, assuming the involvement of multiple shooters and the possible existence of a conspiracy that involved the CIA, the mafia or other dark forces.
One of the most debated aspects concerns the so -called “final blow”, which, according to some forensic experts, could have come from a direction different from that officially indicated. The same reaction of Jackie Kennedy, who tried to collect husband’s cranies of the cranium after the impact of the bullet, was interpreted by some as an indication of the abnormal trajectory of the blow. Over the years, declassified documents and new ballistic analyzes have emerged, but the debate on the attack remains open. Even today, the Kennedy case is among the most studied and discussed of contemporary history.
Despite his pain, Clint Hill decided to tell his version of the facts in several books and interviews. His testimonies, among the most credible on the attack, offer a direct and human vision of what happened in those tragic moments. In his writings, including Five Days in November And Mrs. Kennedy and me, Hill affectionately remembers the Kennedy family and the profound dedication with which he tried to protect her. Over the years, Hill became a point of reference for historians who tried to better understand Dallas’s events. Its version of the facts has often been mentioned to contrast some of the most extreme conspiracy theories. On many occasions, Hill reiterated his belief that Oswald was the only shooter, even if he admitted that the case still contained many shadows.
His recent disappearance closes a painful chapter of American history, but his figure will remain forever linked to that dramatic moment. Clint Hill was not only a witness of the murder of John F. Kennedy: he was a man who tried, until the last moment, to perform his duty with absolute courage and dedication. His legacy is that of a servant of the state who, despite the pain and remorse, dedicated his life to the truth and memory of that day that changed American history forever.
