Secret Service Agent Reflects on 60th Anniversary of JFK Assassination Transcript

60 years later, the images of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are just as haunting. But 91-year-old Clint Hill can recall every detail without opening his eyes.

(00:12)
How often do you think about that day?

Oh, at least once every day. Maybe more. Still there embedded in my brain. It never leaves.

Hill was trailing the presidential limousine in the motorcade as the Secret Service agent assigned to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. When three shots were fired on that November day in Dallas, Texas, the young agent jumped onto the back of the limo in a desperate attempt to protect the president and Mrs. Kennedy, cementing his place in that dark day in history.

(00:41)
There was no thinking there. You just did it.

Yeah. Just reaction.

Do you recall having any thoughts in that moment?

Just get there. Get on top of the car, get your body above theirs, between them and any possible person that’s trying to do them harm.

The 91-year-old has written a new afterword for his book, Five Days in November, ahead of the 60th anniversary of the assassination.

(01:07)
What is there that you’re saying in here that you haven’t already said?

Well, I was very concerned that the general population still has not accepted the truth about the assassination. It’s hard for me to believe that the numbers of people who still believe in conspiracies, they don’t really accept the actual fact of what did happen.

Hill’s recollection has never wavered. One man, one gun, three shots, all from the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository. But he worries about those who give credence to conspiracy theories that suggest otherwise.

(01:46)
You said, “I fear that once all of us who were witnesses to history are gone, the truth will be buried along with us.” I’m sure it’s not lost on you that there’s only two surviving Secret Service members from that day. You worry about that time when neither of you will be here?

I just hope that people will read this and believe it because it’s truth and not listen to the other garbage that comes out.

Of late those conspiracy theories have been fueled by a new account of the assassination made in a recent book by Hill’s former partner, Secret Service agent, Paul Landis. Landis telling the New York Times he’s “beginning to doubt myself about Lee Harvey Oswald being the lone gunman.” Hill dismisses Landis’ account as fiction.

What Mr. Landis had written in his book cannot be true.

You think he’s being dishonest or just has a different recollection of what happened?

I don’t know.

What does it say to the American public that the two of you don’t have your stories aligned?

Well, it just gives them further reason to believe in the conspiracy theories, and that’s unfortunate.

And that’s a deep concern to you?

Very deep concern to me.

Conspiracy theories are now conspiracy facts.

Hill also takes issue with how director Oliver Stone’s feature film and documentary about the assassination have further fueled those theories.

It was not fact. It was fiction. I mean, if you go to make it fiction, announce it that way. This is a made-up story. Don’t tell people that this is fact when it’s not. And that’s what he has done.

Did he ever call you?

No. And don’t bother now. It’s too late for that junk.

Hill says he’s accepted that his actions on that day will likely be how he’s remembered.

(03:37)
What does that acceptance look like or mean to you?

Well, people keep thanking me for what I did. I appreciate that very much. But I didn’t complete my task, which was to save the president’s life, and that’s what’s bothered me all these years, 60 years now. Job was to keep the president alive and safe, and I was not able to do that.

Your legacy, what do you want it to be?

Well, I tried. I tried to do the best job I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

Do you ever think about how had this not happened, what your life might be like?

Oh yeah. Much calmer, much simpler. I wouldn’t have had the experience that I’ve had, though I was a lucky man to be given the responsibilities I was given. I’m very grateful.

And we’re grateful for him. To this day Clint Hill believes if he had moved faster, he could have taken those bullets and saved the president’s life. While he cannot turn back time, he feels that it’s his duty to set the record straight about the facts of the assassination while he’s still alive to do it. But ultimately, while he’s made such huge contributions to American history and society, the thing he says that brings him the most happiness these days is his wife Lisa, and spending time together with her in California.

(04:53)
I mean, you’ve spent time with him. It’s always a joy to spend time with him, but the weight that he carries is so monumental.

Oh, for so many decades. It’s nice to see him have some peace, but he still feels this responsibility to get the truth out there. Yeah.

He sure does, especially with conspiracy theories still out there, and he wanted to make that a point that he pushes back hard on all that.

And at 91 sharp as a tack. Right?

Yeah.

Sure.

Indeed. All right, Jacob, thank you.

Thank you guys.