One image, taken seconds after President Kennedy was shot, captured the attention of news outlets all over the country. The agent in the center of the image is still coming to terms with that moment.
A number of memorable images came from those tragic few days after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963: Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as the successor president on Air Force One, 3-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s casket in Washington, D.C.
Yet one image, taken directly after Kennedy was shot, captured the attention of news outlets all over the United States. It showed a Secret Service agent jumping onto the back of the presidential limousine to shield the president and first lady.
Wednesday, Nov. 22, marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination. And that Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, today 91, is coming to terms with being the man who tried to save the president.
«Before Dallas, I was known as just Clint Hill,» Hill told Radio Diaries. «After that, I’ve been known as the man who climbed onto the president’s car. That six-second period in Dallas, it’s not an easy thing to live with.»
Hill was assigned to first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1960 — an assignment that he quickly realized was much more personable than previous ones.
«Eisenhower, when he would refer to us agents, that was just, ‘Hey, agent!'» Hill recalled. «With Kennedy, he knew your first name. He knew if you were married. He knew if you had children. And he would stop, and he would talk to you. And so, we had the utmost respect for him.»
The day of the assassination, Kennedy was in Dallas as part of a campaigning trip for the upcoming 1964 election. The president and first lady were met with big crowds at Dallas Love Field, where Air Force One landed. The number of onlookers only grew as the motorcade traveled through Dallas.
«By the time we got to Main [Street], the crowd was so large they could not be contained on the sidewalks,» Hill recalled.
