The world paused earlier this year to mark the passing of Clint Hill in February 2025 at the age of 93. The legendary Secret Service agent, who served five presidents, will forever be defined by his immediate, heroic leap onto the back of President John F. Kennedy’s limousine in a desperate attempt to shield the First Family. Though hailed as a hero, Hill carried the devastating memory of the tragedy for the rest of his life. His account, shared with me on Scoop B Radio, remains one of the most powerful and visceral records of the moment America lost its youth.
The Unflappable Plan for Maximum Exposure
Hill began by detailing the high stakes of the Texas trip, emphasizing that the motorcade’s purpose was inherently political. “The reason for the trip was to give maximum exposure to President and Mrs. Kennedy, Vice President and Mrs. Johnson, Governor and Mrs. Conley because they were very concerned about the election in 1964,” Hill stated.
To achieve this visibility, the security detail utilized open, convertible cars “so people would have the chance to really be up close and personal with their president.” Hill recalled the scene in Dallas being deceptively welcoming: “The crowds in Dallas that day were very large and enthusiastic and for the most part friendly and everyone in the Presidential Party was really pleased with the way that things were going.”
Hill’s assignment placed him in the Secret Service follow-up car, positioned directly behind the limousine, where his primary focus was the First Lady. “My principle responsibility was Mrs. Kennedy,” he noted.
The Explosive Noise and the Sprint to Disaster
As the motorcade turned onto Elm Street, the friendly atmosphere shattered with a sound Hill initially dismissed. “All of a sudden over my right shoulder I hear this explosive noise at first I thought it might have been a firecracker or something because it really didn’t sound like a gun,” he recounted. The sight of the President’s reaction, however, was unmistakable. “I saw the President grab at his throat, move violently to his left and I knew something was wrong and apparently it was a gunshot,” he told me on Scoop B Radio.
Hill’s instantaneous reaction—his leap onto the moving vehicle—was driven by a singular purpose: “I jumped from my position and ran towards the presidential vehicle with the intent to get on top of the back of it as a shield for President and Mrs. Kennedy so that no more harm could be done.”
The Fatal Blow and the Final Image
Just as Hill reached the limousine, the third and fatal shot rang out, an impact he could not only hear but feel. “It hit the President in the head and I not only heard that but I felt it because it was so violent,” he explained. The result was instantaneous and gruesome: “Blood, brain matter and skull fragments came out of that wound and was all over the car and all over me and Mrs. Kennedy.”
In the chaotic moments that followed, Hill found Mrs. Kennedy climbing onto the trunk. “I grabbed her and put her back into the back seat and when I did that his body fell into Mrs. Kennedy’s lap,” he described. Observing the President, Hill knew the outcome. “I could see that his eyes were fixed and there was a hole in his skull and I could see no brain matter was left in that area and I could see that it was a fatal wound.”
The agent’s final instruction before the desperate ride to Parkland Memorial Hospital was a grim confirmation of the tragedy: “I turned and gave a thumbs down to the other agents in the follow up car and screamed at the driver to get us to a hospital.” Clint Hill’s powerful, meticulous testimony, shared with me on Scoop B Radio, remains the most critical eyewitness account of a day that changed America forever.
