Central ND News

Gov. Kelly Armstrong issued a statement on the passing of retired U.S. Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, who died at 93. Hill was a recipient of North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award in November 2018.

“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 from 1958 to 1975 in the U.S. Secret Service, safeguarding presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford. He is notably remembered for his actions during the Kennedy assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas when he leapt onto the presidential limousine to protect President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Upon receiving the Rough Rider Award from then-Gov. Doug Burgum, Hill expressed gratitude: “You have made a fellow North Dakotan a very proud and happy man,” he said. Although he left North Dakota for work opportunities, he stated that "my heart and soul will always be here in Washburn, along the banks of the Missouri River in McLean County."