Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir (12 page)

“Oh, we went throughout Europe, Asia, the South Pacific, South America . . .” I looked over to see her reaction. I thought she might be impressed, but there was no sign that she was.

“Have you been to Paris?” she asked.

“Twice,” I replied.

She raised her eyebrows and asked, “Parlez-vous français, Monsieur Hill?”

I wasn’t exactly sure what she said, but it was clearly French, so I took a guess and responded with my version of a French accent.

“No, Madame Kennedy, I do not speak French. But I do know where to find the best French onion soup you have ever had in your entire life.”

She laughed and said, “The president is going on some foreign trips, and I’m planning to go with him on some of them. Paris and Vienna will be among the first.” I hadn’t heard about this yet, so I was glad to receive the information.

“I presume,” she continued, “that if I go with the president, the Secret Service would send someone on my behalf, right?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s right. Either Agent Jeffries or I would go along with one of the president’s agents on the advance, to set up the trip.”

“What do you do on an advance? I mean are there certain things I won’t be allowed to do?” This was typical of Mrs. Kennedy’s curiosity. She wanted to know what kinds of things would be arranged for her, so she could know what to expect.

“You can pretty much do whatever you want to do, and it’s our job to make sure
you can do that safely,” I said. “Of course it’s much more difficult when we travel internationally because we have to work with the foreign police organizations and security forces. Everything will be planned out to the minute so that hopefully there aren’t any surprises along the way. Everywhere you go it will be determined who is joining you, where you sit, what you eat, how you get from one place to another. We want you to be able to enjoy the trip, and feel safe everywhere you go.”

As I was talking, her face took on a rather pained expression.

“Oh, it sounds so clinical,” she said with dismay. “When I was in Paris in college, I was carefree. I could stay out until three in the morning and sleep till noon; I could sit at a café along the Rive Gauche without worrying about a gaggle of photographers sneaking up to snap a photo. I suppose those days are long gone.”

The wistfulness in her voice made me realize how difficult the constant attention was for Mrs. Kennedy, and I could understand completely. I saw the throngs of people that gathered around gawking and snapping photos. It was constant. I made a resolve that I would do everything I could to help her be as carefree as possible, to live as “normal” a life as she could. The best way to do this would be to keep our comings and goings as secret as possible. It wouldn’t be easy, but if I could wipe that sad look off her face, it would be worth it.

By this time we had arrived at the Fout residence. I had no way of knowing whether or not I’d be assigned to the foreign trips Mrs. Kennedy had discussed, but the mere mention of Paris brought back wonderful memories, and I sure hoped I would get to go.

T
HE FIRST WEEKEND
of April 1961 was Easter, and it was back to Palm Beach. When we returned to Washington, it seemed that spring was finally arriving after what had been one of the snowiest winters in the capital’s history.

One morning, I was in the Secret Service office when Mrs. Kennedy called on the telephone from upstairs.

“This is Clint,” I said as I picked up the phone.

“Mr. Hill?” she asked. “Do you play tennis?”

“No, Mrs. Kennedy,” I replied, “I must say I have never played tennis.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then she said, “It’s such a beautiful day. I was hoping to go out on the tennis court and hit some balls.”

“Well, if you have an extra racket I’d be happy to give it a try,” I answered.

I have to admit I considered tennis to be a very easy sport from a competitive point of view. I always thought it was a game for “sissies”—not very manly.
Having played varsity baseball in college with an excellent batting average, I was confident I could hold my own on a tennis court with Mrs. Kennedy. It was indeed a beautiful day outside, and it sounded like fun.

“Oh that would be great, Mr. Hill,” she said enthusiastically. “Please meet me at the South Portico.”

A few minutes later, Mrs. Kennedy came striding out of the door to the South Portico with a big smile on her face, holding two rackets in one hand and a can of tennis balls in the other. She was dressed in a pair of lightweight slacks, a short-sleeved top, and white tennis shoes.

When she saw me, she laughed. “Oh, Mr. Hill! You can’t play tennis in your suit!”

I had no way of knowing tennis would be on the agenda when I dressed for work in the morning, so I was wearing my usual Washington uniform of a dark suit, white shirt, tie, and Florsheim shoes.

“It’s no problem, Mrs. Kennedy. I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

“Okay,” she said as she handed me a racket. Grinning, she added, “Let’s hope there aren’t any photographers around.”

We walked to the tennis court and I watched as she walked to the back line of one side. I removed my suit coat and gun and placed them on the side of the court. I had no idea what all the lines meant on the court, so I just walked to the other side and stood in the middle of the white line at the back.

“Ready?” she called out.

“Ready!” I answered.

I grabbed the racket in both hands like a baseball bat and held it up as if I were awaiting a pitch. She seemed to be suppressing a smile as she served up the ball and hit it across the net.

I watched, and eager to make a good impression, as the ball came toward me I swung the racket back and whacked it with all my might.

The ball went flying over Mrs. Kennedy’s head, over the fence, and into the trees behind the court.

Mrs. Kennedy watched the ball throughout its flight, saw it hit the ground, and turned back toward me. She didn’t say a word. Holding the racket in one hand, she just pulled out another ball and tried again. This time, I didn’t wind up nearly as much and hit the ball as if I were aiming for second base instead of trying to hit a home run.

The same thing happened. The ball went flying over the fence.

“Mr. Hill,” she called from the other side of the net. “The object is to hit the ball to me so I can return it.”

“Yes, Mrs. Kennedy,” I said as I wiped my brow. There was very little breeze and I was already starting to sweat in my wool suit.

I got a bit better and managed to hit a few balls over the net to her, but it certainly wasn’t the game that she had anticipated. I ended up spending most of the time retrieving the balls I’d hit over the fence so we could continue.

We tried a few more times that spring, with similar results. Agent Jeffries, an excellent tennis player, was really her opposition of choice on the tennis courts, because he would volley—I learned the hard way what that word meant—and give Mrs. Kennedy an excellent workout. Unfortunately, he was not always available. Most staff members she tried were not much better than I, so when she couldn’t find anyone else to hit balls with it was finally decided that the best option would be to bring in a pro from a local tennis club to play with her. I certainly gained a lot more respect for the game of tennis and the skill it requires, and was thankful there was no photographic evidence of my short stint as Mrs. Kennedy’s tennis partner.

T
HE WEEKEND OF
April 15 and 16 seemed like any other, with Mrs. Kennedy going to Middleburg on Friday, and the president arriving Saturday afternoon. The public was unaware that the president was dealing with his first major crisis—a failed attempt to invade Cuba by some fourteen hundred American-trained Cuban exiles, that would forever be known as “the Bay of Pigs.”

On Monday, April 17, President and Mrs. Kennedy hosted a state luncheon at the White House for the prime minister of Greece, Konstantinos Karamanlis, and his wife, Amalia, as the Bay of Pigs crisis was unfolding. Mrs. Karamanlis was thirty-two years old—more than twenty years younger than her husband—and she and Mrs. Kennedy hit it off immediately.

After the departure of the Greek couple, Mrs. Kennedy asked me, “Mr. Hill, have you ever been to Greece?”

“Yes, I was in Athens with President Eisenhower.”

“Oh, really?” she answered, wide-eyed. “The prime minister and Mrs. Karamanlis invited the president and me to visit them in Athens. The president can’t make it, but he suggested I go anyway. I’ve always dreamed of visiting the Acropolis and the Parthenon.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said. “I’m sure you’d love Greece. You should definitely take advantage of the opportunity.”

Shortly thereafter, SAIC Jerry Behn called me into his office in the East
Wing of the White House and informed me that I would be doing the advance for Mrs. Kennedy in Paris and Greece.

“Tish Baldridge will be the senior staff advance person, so you’ll be working directly with her,” Behn said. “She used to work in Paris—knows everybody and all the locations—and she speaks fluent French.”

Tish Baldridge was extremely organized and paid close attention to detail. She was exactly the kind of person I liked to have with me on an advance because I didn’t have to worry about things falling through the cracks. She would handle everything with regards to Mrs. Kennedy’s agenda, gifts, seating arrangements, and menus, so that I could focus on logistics and security. This was a huge relief because I had seen how involved visits to foreign governments could become. Protocol always played a big part in these visits and the further I could stay away from those issues, the better. The last thing I needed was to become involved in a squabble over someone’s hurt feelings because they weren’t seated at the table with the president and first lady.

I had been in Paris twice with President Eisenhower—the first time in December 1959, and again during his failed summit meeting with Khrushchev in May 1960—and I was excited for the opportunity to return. Paris had enchanted me like no other city I had visited. There was something about the way its architectural and cultural history had been preserved and maintained that really appealed to me. From the grandeur of the Champs-Élysées to the meandering side streets lined with sidewalk cafés that were filled with couples lingering over a glass of Bordeaux at lunchtime, Paris had matchless charm.

In 1959, I had flown directly from Athens to Paris, a few days ahead of President Eisenhower, along with a few other Secret Service agents and some of the president’s staff. We weren’t there on advance, but had been sent ahead due to space limitations as the president traveled from Athens to Tunis to Toulon, and finally by train to Paris. Thus we had some rare free time. A member of the French police took us under his wing and gave us the “locals” tour of the city. He took us down to Les Halles—which was an open-air farmers’ market where all the farmers came into the city at three o’clock in the morning to set up and sell their produce. There was one vendor who sold homemade onion soup that was piping hot, layered with thick slices of baguette, and mounds of Gruyère cheese that crusted over the top. We would go down to Les Halles around 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning, and have the soup for breakfast. The mere thought of it made my mouth water with anticipation.

“Sounds great,” I replied to SAIC Behn. “When do we leave?”

“The trip is scheduled for the end of May, so you and Tish will go the week before. The president and Mrs. Kennedy will spend three days in Paris, followed by a trip to Vienna, where he’s going to meet with Premier Khrushchev. After that, they’re going to London for a few days. The president will return to Washington, but Mrs. Kennedy is going to Athens with her sister, Lee, and Lee’s husband, Prince Radziwill.”

Mrs. Kennedy’s younger sister Lee had married Stanislaus “Stash” Radziwill, who was a Polish prince. I had never met him before. It sounded like an ambitious trip, to say the least.

Behn continued, “I’m going to need you to go directly from Paris to Athens to do the advance for Mrs. Kennedy.”

“Yes, sir,” I answered. I remained cool on the outside, but inside I was already getting excited about the trip. Going to Europe as an agent on the First Lady’s Detail wasn’t something I had anticipated—especially just a few months into a new administration.

“I’m going to have Ken Giannoules do the advance with you.”

Giannoules was a Special Agent on President Kennedy’s detail. I had worked with him a few times when the president was in Middleburg, and we got along.

“He’ll be in Paris with the president,” Behn said, “so the two of you can fly directly to Athens from there. He’s fluent in Greek and apparently has relatives still living in Athens, so he should be a big help.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Okay. Thanks, Clint. Stay loose.”

Stay loose. That was one of Jerry Behn’s favorite expressions and it sure was descriptive of the attitude you had to have as a Secret Service agent. Don’t be too rigid. Expect the unexpected and be ready to adjust to the situation. You never know what’s around the corner.

J
UST A FEW
weeks later, I was headed to Paris with Tish Baldridge and a couple of agents from the President’s Detail to conduct the complex advance for President Kennedy’s first trip to Europe since taking office. There were a million details to work out, and we had just one week to have all the logistics solidified before President and Mrs. Kennedy arrived.