Since June 1st I have given my manuscript to two literary agents and have a small publishing house that has asked for completion of an author questionnaire and book brief. I did have one publisher call and ask me to email the first three chapters of the book; however, the cell connection was not good and neither the email address or phone number he gave me proved valid. In the meantime I just work on reading and reviewing other memoirs and writing my next manuscript.
I decided to branch out and read some memoirs written by men. I know, it is truly shocking. Female writers are so more forthright in their writing; I liked the concept of writing without pulling your punches. I picked up the memoir Mrs Kennedy And Me by Clint Hill, Special Agent, United States Secret Service. It appears he also had the help of another writer by the name of Lisa McCubbin. Mr. Hill was assigned at the beginning of the JFK administration to the security detail of Mrs. Kennedy. He was not exactly thrilled by this to say the least. Mrs. Kennedy had already dispensed with the first secret service agent assigned to her. I think Mr. Hill had been on LBJ's security detail and it proved rewarding so he thought he would not get near the action, drama, and world exposure with a first lady. WRONG! Mrs. Kennedy proved to be one of our more active and stylish first ladies. She and Mr. Hill appeared to get along well. He was able to anticipate her requirements when traveling and he usually tried to accomodate her request to be able to live her life and participate in all the activities she was accustomed without interference or limitations.
Mrs. Kennedy spent a fair amount of time in Florida as did Mr. Hill. He perused her mail to make sure nothing adverse came to Mrs. Kennedy including the hate mail. John and Caroline were around the ages of his children so he was also an asset in assisting with the children. The funniest parts are when the reader learns of all the activities Mr. Hill had to learn just to be able to keep up with Mrs. Kennedy as her security detail. She was really rather shy and did not like crowds, but she learned to blossom and become a great resource for her husband and ambassador for the U.S. Her travels were immense. She liked to vacation in Greece. She traveled to Paris, India, Pakistan Italy, and Cape Cod. Mr. Hill blended with this family well. What was most touching is that Mr. Hill realized how much tragedy Mrs. Kennedy had known in her short life span. She had miscarried, given birth to a son who then died a week later, and was the person sitting next to the President when he was shot riding in an open convertible in Dallas. She literally had his head in her lap the whole way to the hospital. Mr. Hill was the agent covering her and the President while straddling the back of the convertible. Not only was this incident traumatizing for Mr. Hill, but Mrs. Kennedy appeared to never be the same. She waited in the hospital for doctors to try and save her husband sitting in a chair outside the operating room in her dress and pillbox hat spattered with blood, bone fragments, and pieces of President Kennedy's brain. The light in her eyes was extinguished according to Mr. Hill. And yet Mrs. Kennedy flew with the President's body back to the White House and participated in the swearing in of LBJ while in flight. At one point, she rushed to Mr. Hill asking what he would do now? In other words, what would he be assigned by the secret service. She made sure following the funeral of her husband and move to Georgetown that Mr. Hill and the security detail in charge of her children were commended for their service and made available to rise within the ranks of the secret service.
Mrs. Kennedy died of lymphoma in 1994. Mr. Hill was sure he would be long gone before Mrs. Kennedy ever was so it was as shocking to him as it was to the rest of us. Mrs. Kennedy was a class act and such an incredibly strong woman. Clint Hill's memoir Mrs Kennedy And Me is now one of my most recommended to read memoirs. What a gentleman.
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