Memorial to honor late Secret Service agent Clint Hill in the works

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – A new streaming series about the late John F. Kennedy Junior, along with a congressional campaign by John F. Kennedy’s grandson, has once again put the Kennedy family back in the headlines. This summer, a former bodyguard of Jackie Kennedy will be in the spotlight. He’s originally from North Dakota and recently passed away.

Clint Hill came from a small town in North Dakota but landed on the world’s stage after he protected First Lady Jackie Kennedy after her husband, the President of the United States, was assassinated.

And now, decades later, members of the Washburn American Legion revere Clint Hill for his heroic service to five Presidents.

“He was involved in that infamous assassination in Dallas, which certainly affected his life, but he came out of it. And his support of God and country never wavered through all of this,” said John Schulz, monument organizer and member of Washburn American Legion Victor B Wallin Post #12.

To honor this North Dakota son, Schulz and others have spent the past year organizing a grand dedication and monument for Hill.

“We’ll have a nice carved-in flag on the left side of the monument,” said Shulz.

The monument will be made of polished granite and weigh 12,000 pounds.

It will be six feet tall and five feet wide, and will include a bronze plaque of the Zapruder photo of Hill covering Jackie Kennedy during the JFK assassination.

Shulz worked alongside Hill’s widow, Lisa McCubbin Hill, to design sections of the monument.

Shulz believes this dedication is long overdue.

“I think it’s important to honor someone who served his country well. He served under five Presidents and did a wonderful job taking care of them,” said Shulz.

There will also be multiple plaques summarizing important points of Hill’s life on the back side of the monument.

The dedication will happen on Aug. 1 at Washburn’s Veterans Memorial Park.

Three to four hundred people will be in attendance, including Hill’s widow, past and present state governors and various Hill relatives.

So far, the legion post has raised $60,000 of its $100,000 goal, but feels it will have no problem reaching that fundraising number.