Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir by Clint Hil (love letters to the dead TXT) 📗

in case. The property was far enough off the road and somewhat shielded by trees so that it had the secluded atmosphere Mrs. Kennedy wanted. Its best selling point was a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance, which Mrs. Kennedy loved.

A week or so later, the president and Mrs. Kennedy’s sister, Lee, came out to tour the property. Mrs. Kennedy was already planning the house, how it would sit, where the man-made lake stocked with fish would go, and I thought, Mr. President, whether you like it or not, you are about to own property on Rattlesnake Mountain.

Sure enough, the property was purchased, architectural plans based upon Mrs. Kennedy’s own sketches were decided upon, and construction began. The house would not be finished until the spring of 1963, but fortunately, in all the trips I made with Mrs. Kennedy to view Rattlesnake Mountain, we never came across a snake of any kind.

THANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1962, was spent, as usual, in Hyannis Port, and by mid-December we were back in Palm Beach. This was my third Christmas in Palm Beach and by this time I was very comfortable with the Kennedys’ traditions and routine. Once again the president and Mrs. Kennedy rented the Paul residence, and this year Lee and Stash and their two children came to spend the holidays with them, while the rest of the extended Kennedy family congregated at the ambassador’s residence. Provi brought her son Gustavo down, and he played with John and Caroline, just like another cousin. Stockings were hung from the mantel of the fireplace in the living room, and the children were eager with anticipation for Santa Claus to come.

Mrs. Kennedy wanted to find a place to take the children to see Santa, so Agent Landis located a Santa Claus at Burdines department store in West Palm Beach, and off we went for a visit. Both Caroline and John sat on Santa’s lap, telling him their gift requests.

“I want a talking doll,” Caroline said.

“And I want a toy helicopter!” John piped in. It was a priceless scene, but Mrs. Kennedy insisted no photographs be taken, and the store complied with our requests.

The next week was typical Palm Beach activity. The children would go with the agents and Miss Shaw to the Lake Trail to play, while Mrs. Kennedy would swim in the saltwater pool at the ambassador’s residence, or remain at the Paul residence sketching, reading, or writing notes about future projects.

Meanwhile, the president had been to New York City and to Nassau, Bahamas, for a four-day conference with Prime Minister Macmillan of the United Kingdom to discuss the complex Cold War issues. It wasn’t until December 21 that he was able to join the family in Palm Beach, and Mrs. Kennedy decided she wanted to surprise him.

Air Force One landed and while a group of local politicians greeted the president, I waited with Mrs. Kennedy, John, and Caroline off to the side of the arrival area, hidden from view. John and Caroline thought this was great fun and could hardly contain themselves.

Just as the president was about to get into the official car that was waiting for him, Mrs. Kennedy said, “Okay, John and Caroline, now go surprise your daddy.”

The two children ran to greet their father with hugs and kisses. It was a charming family reunion after the trauma of the Cuban Missile Crisis and having been apart for much of the pre-holiday season.

Even though Christmas carols played on the radio and garland and lights were strung all over town, it never really felt like Christmas to me in Palm Beach. This was the tradition for the Kennedys, however, and they so enjoyed being together during these great big family gatherings. There were definitely times when it was difficult to be on the outside looking in, looking at this happy, beautiful family as they laughed and played. I can still see the joy on President Kennedy’s face as he played with John and Caroline and their new toys on Christmas Day, 1962.

It would be the last Christmas John and Caroline would spend with their father. The last Christmas Mrs. Kennedy would spend with her husband. I was thirty years old. And for me, too, Christmas would never be the same again.

ONE IMPORTANT PIECE of the Cuban Missile Crisis was the quiet negotiations for the release of the Bay of Pigs prisoners. President Kennedy had vowed that the United States would not invade the island of Cuba and in return Fidel Castro had agreed to release the 1,113 men who had been held captive in Cuba since the failed invasion twenty months earlier, for the ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies.

On December 27, 1962, President Kennedy invited five leaders of the Cuban brigade who had just landed on U.S. soil to meet with him privately at the Paul residence in Palm Beach.

After the president had spoken with the men for about an hour, he told me to bring Mrs. Kennedy, John, and Caroline down to the patio to say hello.

I could tell that Mrs. Kennedy had briefed the children on who these men were, and when their father introduced them, they shook hands with the men with wide-eyed curiosity. Mrs. Kennedy spoke to the Cuban brigade leaders in Spanish and while I couldn’t understand a word that was being said, the pride and appreciation in the men’s eyes was evident.

“They are such brave men,” she told me. “I wanted John and Caroline to meet them so that when they are old enough to understand, they will remember them, and the sacrifices they made.”

As the group left, President Kennedy thanked them once again for their valor and added, “I hope someday to visit a free Cuba.”

Two days later, we flew to Miami on the presidential helicopter to the Orange Bowl so that President and Mrs. Kennedy could publicly honor all the 1,113 Bay of Pigs survivors who had just been freed. I was surprised