At the grand age of 92, Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent famed for his brave leap onto President John F. Kennedy ‘s vehicle during the tragic assassination , has opened up about his legacy with poignant brevity, stating: “Two words. I tried.”
He adds succinctly: “That’s all that needs to be said. I tried.”
Captured in the harrowing photos from November 22, 1963 , is Clint, seen frantically climbing onto the presidential car to protect Jacqueline Kennedy following the fatal shooting of her husband by Lee Harvey Oswald.
- The Irish reaction to John F Kennedy’s assassination
- JFK’s roots: The fascinating family history of America’s most Irish president
Over a decade afterwards, in 1975, Clint broke his silence on the event that shook America, contributing to an interview with Mike Wallace on the well-known US programme 60 Minutes. During this heartfelt exchange, he expressed a burdening sense of guilt for not preventing JFK’s demise, lamenting that being “five-tenths of a second faster” might have spared the president’s life.