Gov. Kelly Armstrong released the following statement today regarding the passing of retired U.S. Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, who received the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation for its citizens, in November 2018. Hill died Friday at age 93.
“Clint Hill embodied the qualities of courage, service and sacrifice. His loyalty to his country and his devotion to his solemn duty to protect the president continues to inspire us to this day,” Armstrong said. “North Dakota has lost a legendary native son.”
Hill served in the U.S. Secret Service from 1958 to 1975, protecting the presidency through the administrations of presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. Hill was best known for his courageous actions on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, when in the midst of the Kennedy assassination, he leapt onto the back of the presidential limousine to shield the President and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with his own body.
In accepting the Rough Rider Award from then-Gov. Doug Burgum, Hill said it was a humbling experience to be placed on the list of achievers who have previously received the award.
“You have made a fellow North Dakotan a very proud and happy man,” Hill said. “I may have left North Dakota because of employment opportunities, but my heart and soul will always be here in Washburn, along the banks of the Missouri River in McLean County.”