MDN File Photo Clint Hill, center, autographs his book at the 2012 Norsk Hostfest in Minot. Lisa McCubbin, who collaborated with Hill to write his memoirs and also became his wife, is at right.

WASHBURN — A granite memorial will be unveiled next year honoring U.S. Secret Service Agent Clint Hill in Washburn’s Veterans Memorial Park.

Hill, who served five presidents in his 17 years in the Secret Service, was raised in Washburn. Hill is best known for leaping onto the back of the presidential limousine in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Hill would go on to retire as assistant director of protective operations in 1975, and authored four memoirs. He received the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award in 2018.

The Clint Hill Memorial Board was formed under the auspices of American Legion Victor B. Wallin Post 12 and includes Chairman John Schulz, Barb Heist-Schulz, Mike Kidd, Berna Jo Kidd, Dean Bergstedt and Tonry Thoreson.

Schulz said he was honored to be involved, describing Hill as one of North Dakota’s best known individuals and “a quality individual to boot.” Schulz said the memorial to Hill will reside on land donated by the Legion post to the Washburn Park Board, which will complement other features, such as a bandshell and other memorials.

“During this process there were a couple individuals who said we should do something for Clint Hill. He was always very strong about being from North Dakota. He requested the Rough Rider Award be given to him in Washburn,” Schulz said.

The memorial itself was designed by Bismarck Memorial Monuments of Bismarck and will be a granite stone weighing in at 12,000 pounds. The memorial will include an engraving of Hill’s leap captured in the Zapruder Film, along with five brass plaques with various facts and anecdotes about Hill’s upbringing in North Dakota and his career. The finer details of the memorial were made in collaboration with Hill’s widow, Lisa McCubbin-Hill.