Lisa McCubbin Hill's Blog, page 2
October 22, 2016
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill in Austin and Denver
Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin
Clint Hill and I are wrapping up the 2016 Five Presidents book tour with two final events in Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado.
I get so many Tweets, Facebook messages and emails from people saying they want to meet Secret Service Agent Clint Hill. Well, this is your last chance for 2016! Since Five Presidents was released in May, we have been traveling almost constantly. After this, it’s time for some downtime. So, folks, if you want to meet Clint Hill, please join us in Austin or Denver.
TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL
We are really excited about our first appearance at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas. It’s a huge event with hundreds of authors and we are honored to be giving a presentation in the C-Span/BookTV Tent. Join us at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, November 5 for the conversational format between Clint and me, with about 70 rarely seen photos and videos about his extraordinary career as a Secret Service agent with five presidents: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask Clint Hill? There will be Q&A at the end of the presentation. Then we’ll move to the book signing tent so you can get your own copy of Five Presidents personalized and signed. Lots of folks tell me they are planning to buy multiple copies to give as Christmas gifts. Great idea!
TATTERED COVER BOOKSTORE- DENVER, COLORADO
We’ve just added one final stop on the book tour: Denver. So excited to be returning to the mile high city and Tattered Cover bookstore. We’ll be at Tattered Cover Colfax location Thursday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m. for our multimedia presentation, Q&A, and book signing. I have a feeling this one will be especially interesting since it will be two days after the 2016 Presidential election. Want to know what Clint thinks about it? Join us in Denver!
September 3, 2016
Five Presidents, One Wedding, and a New Baby
Four months ago today – May 3, 2016 – Clint Hill and I released our third book together: Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. 
And what a whirlwind it has been since then! We were on what seemed like a never-ending book tour that began in New York City and (so far) has taken us to Charlottesville, VA; Washington, DC; Dallas, Houston, and Fort Worth, TX; Atlanta, GA; Buffalo and Lewiston, NY (where Clint received an Honorary Doctorate from Niagara University); Dearborn and Petoskey, MI; Naperville and Chicago, IL; St. Louis, MO; San Diego, La Jolla, Corte Madera, and West Hollywood, CA; and Seattle, WA. Whew! We are definitely racking up the frequent flyer miles, and we were thrilled that the book has been so well received—making it to #5 on the New York Times Bestseller List and staying on the list for 10 weeks. 
It was wonderful to meet so many people who appreciate history and especially love hearing Clint Hill’s stories and having the opportunity to shake his hand. All along the way we met people who came up to Clint with tears in their eyes, so moved to finally meet the man they first heard about on November 22, 1963– a hero who tried so valiantly to change history. Especially meaningful to Clint were the countless Secret Service agents who came to our book signings to meet him, and to tell him in person what an inspiration he is to the men and women working tirelessly day in and day out as they face unprecedented challenges protecting our leaders and the candidates for president.
With Willie Geist on TODAY Show set in NYC.
A Wedding
As if releasing a book and embarking on a cross country book tour wasn’t enough excitement, on June 4, my oldest son, Connor got married to Abby Biernat, in a magical ceremony in Seattle. It was a beautiful celebration with family and friends joining us from all over the country, with my sister, an ordained minister, officiating. So very special. And now I’m thrilled to have a daughter!
Connor and Abby
Dancing with my son Connor.
A New Baby
The plan was for Clint and I to take some time off after two years of research, writing, and publicizing Five Presidents. To be perfectly honest, we were exhausted. Well, that’s where the new baby comes in…No, it’s not Connor and Abby’s baby. . . it’s my baby! Ha! Got ya! I’ve agreed to write another book with Gallery Books/Simon and Schuster, with Mitchell Ivers as my editor. Fellow writers understand that a book is truly like a baby… so here I am, expecting my fifth—book baby, that is. I can’t tell you what it is just yet. I’m still at the stage where I want to keep it a secret, but I’ll reveal it to everyone soon enough. I’m very excited about this new project, though, and I’m learning so much.
So… as we move into the fall, we do have a few more book signings. Please check our websites for details and follow Clint Hill and me on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Next stops on the tour are Hostfest in Minot, North Dakota; Litquake in San Francisco; and El Dorado, Arkansas.
Check out Clint’s TODAY Show segment with Willie Geist here.
Chocolate Five Presidents courtesy of Chicago Four Seasons.
June 27, 2016
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill and Five Presidents
Following is an article about Secret Service Agent Clint Hill and coauthor Lisa McCubbin that appeared on the front page of The Ark newspaper June 1, 2016, Tiburon, California.
AT THE CENTER OF POWER: Tiburon duo’s ‘Five Presidents’ explores intimacies, costs of life in the Secret Service
By Heather Lobdell
Tiburon authors Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin have already penned two best sellers. “Five Days in November” and “Mrs. Kennedy and Me” detail Hill’s experience as the Secret Service agent in charge of protecting first lady Jacqueline Kennedy before, during, and after President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination while riding in a Dallas motorcade. Now the couple has a third hit on their hands.
Their new book “Five Presidents” focuses a wide-angle lens on Hill’s 17-year Secret Service career, chronicling his experiences with presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Released in early May, the book is currently No. 8 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.
Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin reflect over a lifetime of media articles depicting Clint’s Secret Service years in the White House, most noticeably his memoirs of being attached to Kennedy’s limo entourage in Dallas, 1963. Photo by Elliot Karlan.
McCubbin, the daughter of Belvedere’s Gay and Wyman Harris, is an award-winning journalist and former TV news anchor. She and Hill first met when McCubbin was working on “The Kennedy Detail: JFK’s Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence,” the 2010 book she coauthored with another former Secret Service agent, Gerald Blaine.
“In many ways it seems like we were destined to be together,” McCubbin says of her relationship with Hill, which flourished after interviews for that book. At the time the couple first met, Hill was reclusive.
“So many wonderful things have come from our meeting each other: Our books that give a priceless glimpse into history that would otherwise have been lost; the experiences and opportunities that have arisen as a result of the books. . . and perhaps most important of all, a new lease on life for Clint,” McCubbin says.
In the acknowledgments of “Mrs. Kennedy and Me,” Hill wrote of McCubbin: “You helped me find a reason to live, not just exist. . . . you helped me revive my life.”
Since the May 3 release of “Five Presidents,” Hill and McCubbin have been on a whirlwind book tour. They’ve visited 15 cities, drawn large crowds and been humbled by their audiences’ emotional responses to the book.
“So many people want to thank Clint for his service,” McCubbin says. “They call him an American hero, and some people bring him gifts.”
One New York man gave Hill mementoes from the Honey Fitz, the presidential yacht used during the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations; a Naperville , Ill., couple gave him a drawing that their 9-year-old daughter had made of Sardar, the horse Ayub Khan gave Jacqueline Kennedy during her 1962 trip to Pakistan; and a St. Louis, Mo., woman gave Hill a drawing she’d made of President Kennedy.
An event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., drew 700 people. (See link at end of article to view a clip of their presentation.) The museum houses four presidential vehicles including SS-100-X, the limousine the Kennedys were riding in when JFK was assented in Dallas in November 1963. It was eerie for Hill to see the car that he threw himself onto the back of to protect Mrs. Kennedy and her husband from additional gunfire.
Authors Lisa McCubbin and Secret Service Agent Clint Hill in front of presidential vehicle SS-100-X at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. KMS Photography.
During question-and-answer sessions everywhere they go, Hill receives questions related to conspiracy theories about Kennedy’s assassination. His response is always the same: “those are all theories–nothing based on factual evidence. Every conspiracy theory can be discounted by hard facts.”
“Five Presidents” begins with Hill’s early life. An orphan adopted and raised in North Dakota, Hill was a stand-out high school athlete, received a college scholarship and worked in U.S. Army counterintelligence before being inducted into the Secret Service in 1958 during Eisenhower’s second term. Hill’s first detail was to protect the president’s ailing mother-in-law in Denver. During his first month on the job, he smuggled a dead body out of her home. Six months later, Hill was reassigned to the White House, where he was soon protecting the president.
The book is hard to put down. Hill tells his story against a backdrop of tumultuous social and political times, including the cold War; the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy; the Civil Rights Movement; Vietnam; and Watergate. Through it all, Hill is there as presidents negotiate with foreign leaders and domestic lawmakers, seek the counsel of trusted advisers and agonize over difficult policy decisions.
Secret Service agent Clint Hill and coauthor Lisa McCubbin speaking at Henry Ford Museum to sold-out crowd of 700 people. KMS Photography.
IN addition to chronicling each president’s leadership, the book provides countless intimate glances into the presidents’ more private moments, something that lends humanity and dimension to characters that often seem larger than life.
The book also features never-before-published photos that show teeming crowds and surprisingly little Secret Service protection. “People are shocked to see photos of the president riding in open cars through the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan; Karachi, Pakistan; and Tehran, Iran, as Eisenhower did in 1959,” McCubbin says.
Though “Five Presidents” focuses on the presidents Hill served, one of the most affecting takeaways is the personal sacrifice required of Secret Service agents.
Hill loved his job but worked impossible hours, endured grave stress and spent almost all holidays with the presidents he served. Hill notes at one point in the book that Christmas 1967 was the first he’d spent at home with his wife and boys, then 6 and 11, since 1958.
It wasn’t until after retiring from the Secret Service in 1975 that Hill began to understand that he had long suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I have tried to bring history to life through my experiences,” Hill says. “The Kennedy assassination was a defining moment for me. . . but there was so much that led up to that moment and much that followed.”
Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin are in demand as keynote speakers for all kinds of events. Hill’s extraordinary story is motivational and inspirational– a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for audiences to meet one of America’s true heroes. For information on how to have Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin speak at your event, contact Premiere Speakers Bureau. For a montage of some humorous clips from their presentation Click Here.
May 22, 2016
Five Presidents is a New York Times bestseller!
Finishing a book and turning in the final manuscript to the publisher is kind of like turning in a term paper and waiting for the grade from your professor. For Secret Service agent Clint Hill and me, writing Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford was an enormous undertaking. We visited several presidential libraries; sorted through thousands of photographs; reviewed daily reports and contacted colleagues to confirm dates, places, and other memories—all before we even sat down to write. When we turned in the final manuscript, after several rounds of cutting—it was originally 600 pages!—we knew we had done our best. Now it was up to the readers and reviewers to give their opinion.
We were thrilled to learn that in today’s edition of the New York Times, Five Presidents is #9 on the bestseller list for hardcover nonfiction and 
#6 for Ebook nonfiction. But even better, and more fulfilling to us, are the heartfelt reviews and emails we are receiving from readers. Here are just a few:
“I just wanted to thank Mr. Hill for his bravery in his service to our country and in telling his stories. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of his books. His latest book was especially meaningful to me as I was born in 1965 shortly before my father, a 22-year veteran of the US Army, was deployed to Vietnam for his first term. Mr. Hill’s book gave me insight into that war that I’d never heard before. Though my dad was awarded a Bronze Star with a “V” device for his service in that war, he would never talk about his experiences there. Reading Mr. Hill’s words brought me to a new understanding of my dad, who passed away in August 2014. This book brought me closer to his spirit. Thank you again, Mr. Hill. I admire you so much, sir. Keep doing what you’re doing!” — S. Sanchez
“I have shelves of presidential histories and biographies in my house, but this book gave wonderful details through a very different lens! I hated to come to the end of it!! You and Mr. Hill did a wonderful job.”
— J.P. Hess
“I loved it. Being born in The 80’s, I missed this entire era. Clint Hill captured the essence of each time period he discussed and I felt transported back in time. I felt like I lived it through him. I have enormous respect for how Hill discussed his time with these presidents. While showing candor regarding each president’s particular style of leadership and overall personality, Hill did not sling mud…rather he emitted the respect he held for the position they each held by not discussing personal, private matters. I feel like I’ve learned so much, and I could not put this book down. Thanks Mr. Hill. For your service and for sharing your experiences!” — Keishah
“Definitely a page turner of the nth degree! Books like this are rare, informative and incredibly enjoyable to read.” — V. Gardino
So, thank you all! We continue our book tour tomorrow with a swing through Los Angeles for a private event. Catch Clint Hill on Good Day L.A. Tuesday morning (May 24), and then we are head to La Jolla for a presentation and book signing at Warwick’s Books. 7:00 pm Wednesday, May 25. Hope to see you there!
April 23, 2016
Five Presidents 2016 Book Tour–With Secret Service Agent Clint Hill
Clint Hill and I are counting down the days to the release of our latest collaboration, FIVE PRESIDENTS: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, on sale May 3. Our 2016 nationwide book tour begins in New York City May 2. Seating and tickets for most events are limited, and some have already sold out.
Having worked with legendary Secret Service agent Clint Hill for the past six years, I have seen how beloved he is around the world and how many people want to meet him, hear his remarkable stories in person, and have the opportunity to shake his hand. Now age 84, Clint Hill has agreed to do one more book tour. If you have always wanted to meet this incredible man—a man many consider a hero, and a national treasure—this is your chance. Clint Hill is the last surviving person who was in the presidential vehicle that fateful day in Dallas, Texas when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Listen up—the time is now. Seating and tickets for most events are limited, and some have already sold out. This is the full schedule. People keep asking if we are coming to other cities. The answer is… most likely, no. This is it, people. If you want to meet Clint Hill, find a way to one of the scheduled book talks. Click on the links for details as each event is different. Some events require tickets and/or book purchase. (No in person meetings at radio and TV interviews). We hope to see you along the way!
Monday, MAY 2 – NEW YORK CITY
8:30 AM “Imus in the Morning” WABC-AM
9:30 AM “Opie Radio” Sirius XM Radio
7:00 PM Barnes & Noble Upper West Side–Talk and Book signing
Tuesday, MAY 3
9:00 AM “Today Show” with Willie Geist
12:00 PM “Personally Speaking” WOR-AM
Thursday, MAY 5 – CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
University of Virginia, Center for Politics
5:00 – 6:00 PM Book Signing
6:30 – 8:00 PM Lisa McCubbin interviews Secret Service agent Clint Hill followed by Q&A
8:00 – 9:00 PM Book Signing
Saturday, MAY 7 – WASHINGTON, DC
2:30 – 4:30 PM Newseum – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Monday, MAY 9 – DALLAS, TX
7:00 PM Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Wednesday, MAY 11 – ATLANTA, GA
7:00 PM Carter Presidential Library – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Thursday, MAY 12 – BUFFALO, NY
5:30 PM Larkin Square Author Series – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Monday, MAY 16 – DEARBORN, MI
7:00 PM Henry Ford Museum – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents
This event may already be sold out. Over 700 tickets sold!
Wednesday, MAY 18 – NAPERVILLE, IL
7:00 PM Anderson’s Bookshop – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Offsite Event at Community Christian Church
Thursday, MAY 19 – ST. LOUIS, MO
7:00 PM Missouri History Museum – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Wednesday, MAY 25 – LA JOLLA, CA
7:30 PM Warwick’s Books – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Monday, JUNE 6 – SEATTLE, WA
7:00 PM Elliott Bay Book Company – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
Saturday, JUNE 11 – CORTE MADERA, CA (SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA)
1:00 PM Book Passage – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin discuss Five Presidents and book signing
SEPTEMBER 28 – OCTOBER 1 – MINOT, ND
Daily – Clint Hill & Lisa McCubbin present Five Presidents. Two book signings daily.
THE END. Time for a vacation! 
April 10, 2016
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill's Vow
When I first met retired U.S. Secret Service agent Clint Hill 6 1/2 years ago, he told me two things. “I don’t talk to anybody about that day ever,” and, “I will never write a book.”
Clint Hill, April 8, 2016
Two days ago, we received our first copies of Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.
Clint Hill’s third book. And yes, it includes that day. Never say never.
It was August 2009 when Clint Hill agreed, begrudgingly, to meet me at the Hay Adams Hotel just a short distance from the White House.
“Two hours,” he had said. “I’ll give you two hours.”
I was extremely nervous to meet this man who was known around the world as “the Secret Service agent who jumped on the back of the car” heroically trying to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was now 78-years-old and had not given any in-depth interviews since that infamous 1975 60 Minutes piece called “Special Agent #9” in which he broke down when Mike Wallace probed him about that day.
The only reason he was speaking to me was that I was writing a book with one of his former colleagues, Gerald Blaine, and Blaine had told him he could trust me. But I soon learned that Clint Hill doesn’t trust anyone.
After two hours with him, I must say he didn’t give me much more information than I could have found in any of the countless books written about JFK’s assassination. He spoke calmly, with a measured tone, the voice of a seasoned law enforcement professional. He politely answered my questions, but didn’t offer much in the way of details. I sensed he had built a wall around this part of his past, and no one was going to get in. Not even me.
And then, when I questioned him about the death of President and Mrs. Kennedy’s son Patrick, tears welled in his eyes. He winced, and I realized that his emotions, although they’d been buried deep, were still raw, even all these years later. Nearly 47 years after that day, the memories were as painful as if it had happened only yesterday. I felt compassion for him, and although I didn’t push him to stay longer than the two hours he’d so kindly given, I had a hundred more questions swirling in my mind.
Over the next several months, I called him frequently as I was writing The Kennedy Detail, and slowly he began to open up. Little by little the story came out. It was clear to me that he still suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and my heart broke for him.
As it turned out, talking, and eventually writing about that day was the therapy Clint Hill had needed all along. It was during the writing of Mrs. Kennedy and Me that I began to see his wonderful sense of humor as he relived the good times he had shared with Jacqueline Kennedy. Once the book was published, as we traveled around the world on the book tour and with speaking engagements, Clint saw how much people wanted and needed to hear his memories.
Lisa McCubbin and Clint Hill at an event in Ravello, Italy. 2012.
He can speak for an hour solid, and you can hear a pin drop in a room filled with 1000 people. He is a riveting storyteller, and people couldn’t get enough. For him, simply telling the stories over and over again set him well on his path to healing.
As it turned out, we were both struggling with our own issues, and writing together has been therapeutic for both of us. It was ironic how we found each other–neither of us searching for help, but finding it in history—his story—history. 
Never say never. Three books. That day. And so much more. Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford is on sale May 3. Visit Clint Hill at ClintHillSecretService.com
The post Secret Service Agent Clint Hill's Vow appeared first on Lisa McCubbin.
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill’s Vow
When I first met retired U.S. Secret Service agent Clint Hill 6 1/2 years ago, he told me two things. “I don’t talk to anybody about that day ever,” and, “I will never write a book.”
Clint Hill, April 8, 2016
Two days ago, we received our first copies of Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.
Clint Hill’s third book. And yes, it includes that day. Never say never.
It was August 2009 when Clint Hill agreed, begrudgingly, to meet me at the Hay Adams Hotel just a short distance from the White House.
“Two hours,” he had said. “I’ll give you two hours.”
I was extremely nervous to meet this man who was known around the world as “the Secret Service agent who jumped on the back of the car” heroically trying to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was now 78-years-old and had not given any in-depth interviews since that infamous 1975 60 Minutes piece called “Special Agent #9” in which he broke down when Mike Wallace probed him about that day.
The only reason he was speaking to me was that I was writing a book with one of his former colleagues, Gerald Blaine, and Blaine had told him he could trust me. But I soon learned that Clint Hill doesn’t trust anyone.
After two hours with him, I must say he didn’t give me much more information than I could have found in any of the countless books written about JFK’s assassination. He spoke calmly, with a measured tone, the voice of a seasoned law enforcement professional. He politely answered my questions, but didn’t offer much in the way of details. I sensed he had built a wall around this part of his past, and no one was going to get in. Not even me.
And then, when I questioned him about the death of President and Mrs. Kennedy’s son Patrick, tears welled in his eyes. He winced, and I realized that his emotions, although they’d been buried deep, were still raw, even all these years later. Nearly 47 years after that day, the memories were as painful as if it had happened only yesterday. I felt compassion for him, and although I didn’t push him to stay longer than the two hours he’d so kindly given, I had a hundred more questions swirling in my mind.
Over the next several months, I called him frequently as I was writing The Kennedy Detail, and slowly he began to open up. Little by little the story came out. It was clear to me that he still suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and my heart broke for him.
As it turned out, talking, and eventually writing about that day was the therapy Clint Hill had needed all along. It was during the writing of Mrs. Kennedy and Me that I began to see his wonderful sense of humor as he relived the good times he had shared with Jacqueline Kennedy. Once the book was published, as we traveled around the world on the book tour and with speaking engagements, Clint saw how much people wanted and needed to hear his memories.
Lisa McCubbin and Clint Hill at an event in Ravello, Italy. 2012.
He can speak for an hour solid, and you can hear a pin drop in a room filled with 1000 people. He is a riveting storyteller, and people couldn’t get enough. For him, simply telling the stories over and over again set him well on his path to healing.
As it turned out, we were both struggling with our own issues, and writing together has been therapeutic for both of us. It was ironic how we found each other–neither of us searching for help, but finding it in history—his story—history. 
Never say never. Three books. That day. And so much more. Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford is on sale May 3. Visit Clint Hill at ClintHillSecretService.com
April 4, 2016
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill recalls Martin Luther King Assassination
Clint Hill and other agents surround LBJ at Martin Luther King memorial service.
By the beginning of April 1968 the presidential campaign was taking twists and turns no one could have predicted. After winning the 1964 election in a landslide, President Lyndon B. Johnson had shocked the nation in a speech on March 31 by announcing he would not seek reelection. Two weeks before that, Senator Robert F. Kennedy had thrown his hat into the ring.
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill was now Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of Presidential Protection– the #1 man on LBJ’s Secret Service detail. He was on duty at the White House the morning of April 3, when Senator Kennedy showed up for a meeting with President Johnson, accompanied by Ted Sorenson. Agent Hill escorted Kennedy to and from the Cabinet Room.
Hill recalls vividly what happened the day after that meeting between RFK and LBJ, and how the nation would be thrown into turmoil like it had not seen since the Civil War.
April 4 had been a long day and Agent Hill was still on duty at the White House, waiting to take LBJ to a fundraising dinner, when news came in that Martin Luther King had been shot in Memphis. An hour later, confirmation the Civil Rights leader was dead. President Johnson immediately appeared on live television urging calm. He realized that the news of King’s assassination—allegedly by a white man—would likely incite riots. With Vietnam protests already exploding around the country, this could take the violence to a whole new level.
Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy, campaigning in Indianapolis, broke the news to a largely black group of supporters. He, too, urged calm.
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”
Neither LBJ’s or RFK’s pleadings could stem the violence that erupted, however. Cities all across America went up in flames. Entire neighborhoods were burned and looted so badly that the economies of those areas would not recover for decades.
Amidst the growing and unstoppable violence, President Johnson attended a memorial service for Martin Luther King in Washington DC. At his side, responsible for his safety, was Agent Clint Hill. Hill, as you know, had witnessed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, just four and a half years earlier. Can you imagine what it was like to be in his shoes that day?
Can you imagine what it was like to be in his shoes two months later when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated?
Now you know why we had to write Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. The history Secret Service Agent Clint Hill witnessed is remarkable.
And as comparisons between the presidential campaign of 2016 and 1968 continue to be made, remember the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service who are putting their own lives on the line to ensure the safety of our president and the Republican and Democratic candidates currently on the campaign trail.
For a first edition of Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford personalized and signed by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin, order here. While supplies last.
March 24, 2016
Secret Service Then and Now With Clint Hill
One of my favorite things about writing with Secret Service agent Clint Hill is going through the piles of photos he has in his personal collection. Every photo tells a story and when Clint Hill sits right beside me, pointing out details I might not have noticed, it allows me enormous insight into the challenges the Secret Service faces in varying scenarios. For instance, forty-nine years ago this week, Clint Hill traveled to Guam with President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The purpose of the trip was for LBJ to meet with officials from South Vietnam to discuss options for peace. As the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Clint Hill was the number two man on the Presidential Protective Division (PPD). It was March 1967, in the midst of the Vietnam War, college campuses were exploding with protests, and the threats to the president were ever-present.
Secret Service Agents protect LBJ in Guam. March 20, 1967. Clint Hill lower left.
About 2000 people were waiting at Agana Naval Air Station to see the arrival of President Johnson on Air Force One. The 1968 presidential campaign was one year away, but LBJ went straight to the fence line to greet the people who had come out to see him. No magnetometers, no screening, and nothing between the President of the United States and a potential assassin except the handful of Secret Service agents around him.
This past Sunday, March 20, 2016—forty-nine years to the day this photo in Guam was taken—I sat next to Clint Hill, watching on television, as Air Force One landed in Cuba. While I saw the big picture, his eyes caught the minute details. Sitting on the edge of his seat, he pointed out the positioning of the agents—some of whom he knows by name—and I could feel the inner tension rising inside him, just as if he were right back there alongside the President of the United States.
Lots of things have changed in the Secret Service in the past half-century—the communications are leap years ahead of what they were in the 1960s and the number of personnel has increased substantially—but one thing remains the same: the dedication of the Secret Service to their mission. You could see the same determination and laser focus on the faces of the agents in Cuba as you see in the photo in Guam. It was remarkable that President Obama traveled to Cuba, and it was thanks to the U.S. Secret Service that he was able to take such an historic trip at all.
For more about Secret Service Agent Clint Hill: ClintHillSecretService.com
Lisa McCubbin is the coauthor of the upcoming book FIVE PRESIDENTS: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford (Gallery/Simon and Schuster) On sale May 3, 2016.
March 14, 2016
Praise for the U.S. Secret Service
On Saturday, March 12, Secret Service agents jumped into action, surrounding presidential candidate Donald Trump, when a man tried to rush the stage.
The agents did their job. Cover the protectee, and evacuate, if necessary. The man was apprehended, the threat was eliminated, and Trump carried on.
Clint Hill noted in a Facebook post that the agents quick reaction was necessary and appropriate. He said, “Great work, guys.”
Hundreds of people “liked” the post and made comments like Camille Kelly who wrote, “Mr. Hill, incidents like this make me realize what a difficult job you had. . . GOD bless you and all the secret agents that make America safe.”
What surprised me were the comments by a small minority who turned this political. One person commented, “Too bad they have to guard this horrible man.” That one comment sparked a litany of responses from people who felt they needed to use Mr. Hill’s Facebook page to air their political views—both strongly for and against Mr. Trump. Some comments were even uglier, with one person saying, “Should of let the protesters get him, all he is is trouble maker.”
The point is, Secret Service agents on all protective details put their own lives on the line not because they endorse one candidate or political party over another, but because that is their job. Their job is not to judge, but to protect.
There’s no doubt our country is divided –perhaps more divided than ever before in recent history—but one thing I am thankful for is that we have brave men and women who put our country above politics, pressure, and even self to protect the freedoms on which our country is based. Thank God for the men and women of the U.S. Secret Service.
