Secret Service Agent Vividly Recalls President Kennedy’s Assassination

Clint Hill, the former Secret Service agent who was assigned to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, has once again revisited the painful and life-defining moments of November 22, 1963—the day President John F.Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

In a recent interview, Hill offered a harrowing and detailed recollection of what happened that day, revealing not only the horror he witnessed but also the emotional scars that still linger more than six decades later.

At the time, Hill was riding on the back of the follow-up car behind the presidential limousine.

As the motorcade moved through Dealey Plaza, he noticed something wasn’t right.

The crowd had been cheering, waving, and snapping photographs when suddenly, the air changed.

Then came the sound—a loud, sharp crack that would be forever etched into his memory.

“I heard what I thought was a firecracker,” Hill recalled.

“But when I saw the President’s reaction, I knew immediately it was something far more serious.

Without hesitation, Hill jumped off the running board of the car he was on and sprinted toward the limousine, which was already speeding up after the shots rang out.

The footage of that day shows Hill climbing onto the back of the car as Jackie Kennedy reached out in panic, trying to grasp what little hope remained.

“I saw the President slumped over, and blood—so much blood.

Jackie was trying to retrieve part of his head that had been blown off.

She didn’t know what to do.

None of us did,” Hill said, his voice trembling as he relived the scene.

Though Kennedy had been hit by two bullets—one in the upper back and another fatal shot to the head—Hill’s immediate instinct was to shield both the President and the First Lady.

He lay across the trunk of the limousine and helped push Mrs.

Kennedy back into her seat, all while screaming at the driver to get to a hospital.

In the chaotic minutes that followed, the limousine raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Hill never left their side.

As doctors rushed to try and save the President, he stayed close to the First Lady, whose pink Chanel suit was soaked in blood.

“She wouldn’t leave him.

She just kept whispering in his ear.

I don’t think she believed he was gone,” Hill said.

President Kennedy was declared dead at 1:00 p.m.local time.Vice President Lyndon B.Johnson was sworn in aboard Air Force One just hours later, with Hill standing silently nearby, bearing witness to one of the darkest transfers of power in U.S.history.

In the years that followed, Clint Hill struggled with guilt, depression, and post-traumatic stress.

He has admitted in past interviews that he felt personally responsible for not being able to stop the bullets.

“It took me decades to accept that there was nothing more I could’ve done,” he said.

“I was 10 feet away when it happened.

I did everything I could in those seconds.

But it’s something you never truly recover from.

It wasn’t until decades later that Hill began speaking openly about his experiences.

Through books and interviews, he has become one of the most vocal and trusted witnesses to the Kennedy assassination.

His memoirs have offered unparalleled insights into not only the events of that day but also into the private world of the Kennedy family.

Despite the trauma, Hill remains fiercely loyal to the memory of President Kennedy and to Jacqueline Kennedy, whom he protected until the very end of his service.

He often speaks of her grace under pressure and her deep devotion to her husband.

“She had unbelievable strength,” Hill said.

“After everything she witnessed, she still managed to walk beside his casket with her head held high.

That image—her in the veil, holding her son’s hand—that’s the image the world remembers, but I remember what led up to it.

Now well into his 90s, Clint Hill continues to share his story in hopes that future generations will understand the weight of that moment in American history.

He’s made it clear that while many remember the broader political ramifications of the assassination, few understand what it was like for those who were there, who lived it second by second.

When asked why he continues to speak about that day, Hill offered a simple but profound answer: “Because the world should never forget.

And because President Kennedy deserves to be remembered not just for how he died, but for how he lived—for what he believed in.

For many Americans, Clint Hill’s testimony remains one of the most hauntingly personal accounts of the JFK assassination.

His courage, his trauma, and his unwavering sense of duty serve as a poignant reminder of what was lost that day—not just a president, but a sense of national innocence.

As history continues to unfold, voices like Clint Hill’s ensure that the lessons of the past are not buried.

His memories remain vivid, painful, and essential—an enduring tribute to a moment that changed America forever.