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Arts & Entertainment

Former Secret Service Agent Clint Hill to Discuss and Sign his Memoir "Mrs. Kennedy and Me" at the Libertyville Civic Center April 23

Former United States Secret Service Agent Clint Hill will discuss his new book, Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir at the Libertyville Civic Center on April 23 at 7PM. This free event will be open to the public but registration is required. To register, call (847) 362-2330 or go to webres.cooklib.org.

Do you remember where you were when President Kennedy was shot? Clint Hill remembers very vividly where he was and what he was doing. Forever remembered as the Secret Service agent who jumped on the limousine after JFK was shot in an attempt to shield the President and the First Lady with his body, Hill was assigned in 1960 to guard the glamorous and intensely private Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. For four years - from the election of JFK until the election of Lyndon Johnson, Hill went from being a reluctant guardian to a fiercely loyal watchdog, and in many ways, Jackie's closest friend. "I stayed with her until after the election in 1964," Hill said. "We had a close relationship, but a very professional one."

Now looking back 50 years, Clint Hill tells his story for the first time. From the start, the job was like no other, and Hill was by Jackie's side through the early days of JFK's presidency; the birth of sons John and Patrick and Patrick's sudden death; Kennedy-family holidays in Hyannis Port and Palm Beach; Jackie's trips to Europe, Asia and South America; Jackie's intriguing meetings with men like Aristotle Onassis, Gianni Agnelli and Andre Malraux; and the dark days that followed JFK's assassination. "There were some very good times but also some horrible times as well," said Hill.

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The book offers a tender, enthralling, and tragic portrayal of how a Secret Service agent who started life in a North Dakota orphanage became the most trusted man in the life of the First Lady who captivated first the nation and then the world.

Through it all the only thing Jackie wanted was the one thing he could not give her: a private life for her and her children. Filled with unforgettable details, startling revelations, and sparkling, intimate moments, this is the once-in-a-lifetime story of a man doing the most exciting job in the world, with a woman the world loved, and the tragedy that ended it all too soon.

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Hill, a Washburn, N.D. native and Concordia College graduate, served five presidents during his time with the Secret Service and now lives in the Washington, D.C. area. Books for signing will be available for purchase, courtesy of the Lake Forest Bookstore.  

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