Clint Hill Concordia alum receives Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award

Former U.S. secret service agent Clint Hill with the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest accolade for its citizens. The award honors present and former North Dakotans who have made great achievements in their fields, and who have well represented the state’s values.

“Clint Hill is an exceptional North Dakotan who has risked his life and health time and time again to protect our nation and its commander in chief,” said the Governor.

Burgum is a former Microsoft executive who received the award himself in 2009 before being elected to office. He released a statement announcing Hill as the recipient of the award, and applauded him for his lengthy service to the nation. Hill served in the Secret Service for seventeen years between the 1960s and 1970s, witnessing the heightened tension of the Cold War. While serving, he was responsible for protecting five consecutive presidencies, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Gerald Ford.

Hill was born in Larimore, N.D., and grew up in Washburn, N.D. He later studied at Concordia College, where he played football, basketball, and baseball, and went on to earn degrees in both history and physical education. Although Hill wanted to work as a teacher after graduation, he was instead drafted by the U.S. army, where he served as a Counterintelligence Special Agent until he was honorably discharged in 1957. He was then employed by the Secret Service between 1958 and 1975, during which he protected the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford presidencies.

“It is an honor to be recognized by your home state, and North Dakota has always been my home,” said Hill. “I am honored and humbled to be placed in the company of the many incredible North Dakotans who have received this award.”

During the Kennedy administration, Hill was primarily responsible for protecting First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. When President Kennedy was shot in 1963, Hill ran and jumped into their car in order to shield the First Lady and President from further harm. Hill is credited with saving Jacqueline Kennedy’s life and was honored at a ceremony days later, which the First Lady attended.

“Mr. Hill has no doubt earned this medal for exceptional bravery. He displayed courage under the most difficult of circumstances” said Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon on Dec. 3, 1963.

Hill continued to serve for the First Lady’s detail for a year after the assassination. During President Johnson’s administration, Hill became the Special Agent in Charge of Presidential Protection. By 1971, he had been promoted to Assistant Director of the Presidential Protective Division. When Hill retired from the Secret Service in 1975, he was Assistant Director responsible for all protective forces.

Despite his success, Hill still felt immense grief over the assassination. This led to a struggle with alcoholism for a brief period following his retirement. Despite the guilt he felt, Hill was later able to find closure after visiting the scene of the incident and realizing that there was nothing he could have done. Writing also helped him express himself. After his career in the Secret Service, Hill became well known as an author. His books “Mrs. Kennedy and Me,” “Five Days in November” and “Five Presidents” became #1 New York Times bestsellers, and National Geographic is currently planning a television series based on “Five Presidents.” Hill would go on to receive Concordia’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2011.

Today, Hill spends his time as a guest speaker and has taught at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He also continues to work with the Secret Service in discussing protective strategies and procedures. The Rough Rider award will be presented to Hill during a public ceremony on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

Read more

Clint Hill Selected as the 44th Recipient of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award!

Gov. Doug Burgum today announced former U.S. Secret Service agent and author Clint Hill as the 44th recipient of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation for its citizens.

Hill served in the U.S. Secret Service from 1958 to 1975, protecting the presidency through five administrations: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson, President Richard M. Nixon and President Gerald R. Ford.

“Clint Hill is an exceptional North Dakotan who has risked his life and health time and time again to protect our nation and its commander in chief,” said Burgum, who informed Hill of the award Wednesday. “During his 17-year career with the U.S. Secret Service, he stood guard over the nation’s highest office through the many extraordinary and unprecedented historical events that occurred from the beginning of the Cold War through the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s. His exemplary record of service at the highest level of national security continues to inspire pride and respect among North Dakotans, and we are deeply grateful for his lifetime of service.”

“It is an honor to be recognized by your home state, and North Dakota has always been my home,” said Hill. “Growing up in North Dakota, the values of hard work, dedication, integrity and the importance of public service instilled in me by my family and community served me well throughout my career. I am honored and humbled to be placed in the company of the many incredible North Dakotans who have received this award.”

A native of Washburn, Hill graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., with a degree in history and physical education. Though he intended to be a history teacher and coach, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served as a Special Agent in the Army Counter Intelligence Corps.

After his honorable discharge from the Army, Hill applied to the U.S. Secret Service and, in 1958, was accepted as a Special Agent in the Denver field office. A year later, he was assigned to the elite White House detail protecting President Eisenhower. Hill served on President Eisenhower’s protective detail in the White House and during domestic travel and several international trips at the beginning of the Cold War.

When President Kennedy took office in 1961, Hill was assigned to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s detail. Hill was in the motorcade as a member of the First Lady’s detail on the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Hill ran from his position on the running board of the Secret Service follow-up car and leapt onto the back of the presidential limousine as shots were being fired. Shielding President Kennedy and the First Lady from any further shots with his own body as the car sped from Dealey Plaza to Parkland Hospital, Hill is credited with saving Jacqueline Kennedy’s life and was awarded the nation’s highest civilian award for bravery in December 1963.

Hill remained with the First Lady’s detail for a year after President Kennedy’s assassination. In 1964, he was reassigned to the White House where he joined the presidential detail during President Johnson’s administration, eventually becoming the Special Agent in Charge of Presidential Protection.

Hill became the Special Agent in Charge of Vice Presidential Protection for Vice President Spiro Agnew upon President Richard M. Nixon’s election in 1968. Under Hill’s leadership, the size and capacity of the Vice Presidential Protective Division was expanded, and in 1970 Hill became the Deputy Assistant Director of Protective Forces. Later that year, Vice President Agnew visited Hill’s mother and family during a visit to Minot.

In 1971, Hill became the Assistant Director of the Presidential Protective Division. When Hill retired from the Secret Service in 1975, he was the Assistant Director responsible for all protective forces.

Hill has co-authored three books (with Lisa McCubbin) detailing his experiences as a U.S. Secret Service Agent, including the #1 New York Times bestseller “Mrs. Kennedy and Me,” “Five Days in November” and “Five Presidents.” A television series based on “Five Presidents” is currently in development with National Geographic.

Hill has been a guest speaker at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and continues to participate with Secret Service personnel in discussing protective activities and procedures.

The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award recognizes present and former North Dakotans who have been influenced by the state in achieving national recognition in their fields

of endeavor, thereby reflecting credit and honor upon North Dakota and its citizens. Established during the 1961 Dakota Territory Centennial, the award was initially given as an honorary rank of Colonel in the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Riders.

The award will be presented to Hill in person at a date and location to be announced soon.