An awful day 52 years ago:

[lastlib]

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bobby-kennedy-is-assassinated

The summer of 1968 was a tempestuous time in American history. Both the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement were peaking. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated in the spring, igniting riots across the country. In the face of this unrest, President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to seek a second term in the upcoming presidential election. Robert Kennedy, John’s younger brother and former U.S. Attorney General, stepped into this breach and experienced a groundswell of support.
Kennedy was perceived by many to be the only person in American politics capable of uniting the people. He was beloved by the minority community for his integrity and devotion to the civil rights cause. After winning California’s primary, Kennedy was in the position to receive the Democratic nomination and face off against Richard Nixon in the general election.

As star athletes Rafer Johnson and Roosevelt Grier accompanied Kennedy out a rear exit of the Ambassador Hotel, Sirhan Sirhan stepped forward with a rolled up campaign poster, hiding his .22 revolver. He was only a foot away when he fired several shots at Kennedy. Grier and Johnson wrestled Sirhan to the ground, but not before five bystanders were wounded. Grier was distraught afterward and blamed himself for allowing Kennedy to be shot.

Sirhan, who was born in Palestine, confessed to the crime at his trial and received a death sentence on March 3, 1969. However, since the California State Supreme Court invalidated all death penalty sentences in 1972, Sirhan has spent the rest of his life in prison. According to the New York Times, he has since said that he believed Kennedy was “instrumental” in the oppression of Palestinians. Hubert Humphrey ended up running for the Democrats in 1968, but lost to Nixon.

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Our nation has never recovered fully from this evil act. I still grieve for the loss of this good man. My guiding star in politics.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Juan Romero, the busboy who aided wounded Robert Kennedy, dies at 68

Juan Romero, the busboy who aided wounded Robert Kennedy, dies at 68



Senator Robert Kennedy sprawled semiconscious in his own blood on floor after being shot in the brain & neck while busboy Juan Romero tries to comfort him, in kitchen at hotel.Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett

Oct. 4, 2018, 2:42 PM EDT
By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The hotel busboy who came to Robert F. Kennedy's aid when the New York senator was shot in Los Angeles has died.

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that Juan Romero died Monday in Modesto, California, at age 68.

Longtime friend and veteran TV newsman Rigo Chacon of San Jose told the Times that Romero suffered an apparent heart attack several days earlier.

Romero was a teenage busboy in June 1968 when Kennedy walked through the Ambassador Hotel kitchen after his victory in the California presidential primary and an assassin shot him in the head.

Romero held the mortally wounded Kennedy as he lay on the ground, struggling to keep the senator's bleeding head from hitting the floor.

{snip}

[49jim]

2. I was 18 years old

waking up to this news. I thought I was dreaming and they were talking about JFK. This is almost forgotten except for us baby boomers that lived through this. I remember thinking if he were to beat Nixon the country would have gone in a different direction...(for the good). The news reports today remind me of what I remember seeing on our black and white tv set back then. Has anything changed in 52 years?

The Viet Nam was going strong, however I could buy alcohol but couldn't vote. I voted for the first time in 1972 (for George McGovern) when the laws were changed.

[lastlib]

3. Yes it has changed, but NOT for the better.

What could have been.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

4. I saw Bobby Kennedy the day before in San Jose...I was 16...

He gave a rousing speech at a crowded St. James Park.

HE is the reason and THAT was the day I became a Democrat.

[volstork]

5. An incalculable loss.

Had he become President, the entire world would be a different and much better place. The crucible of his brother's death broke something open in him that allowed him to tap into an enormous empathy for the suffering of his fellow Americans of all ethnicities, creeds, and economic standings. We certainly would not be in the dark place that we are now had he lived.

[Siwsan]

6. One of my sharpest memories, of the event, was my mother checking on me

I was crushed. Absolutely shattered. I think that was the first time I cried and sobbed, uncontrollably. My mother was a very hard nosed, extremely right wing conservative and also not a one for comforting. Especially over a Kennedy or anybody she didn't hold in esteem. I'll never forget what she said to me after John Lennon was assasinated. I won't repeat it, but it left me stunned.

However, I think my reaction to Bobby's death was so genuine and gut wrenching that she really felt concern and even some sympathy. She checked on me, sat with me for a few minutes, offered a few words of comfort and then left me to my grief. She never uttered a single disparaging word about him, after that. Not to me, anyway.

[Bayard]

7. Just makes me cry again

I cried with my Mom watching JFK's funeral on tv, and cried over the news of RFK at 11 years old.

This country--the world--would be in a much better place now.

[colsohlibgal]

8. That Changed Me Forever

First JFK.....then MLK....and shortly after RFK.

Once the film was finally shown it was clear where the fatal shot at JFK came from. Lots of research later led me to believe Oswald when he denied that he shot JFK. The legislative committee on those killings could only say a conspiracy was likely in JFK’s murder because Mob witnesses willing to testify to that kept getting whacked before they could testify. In brief the Mob wanted their casinos back in Havana.

Have serious doubts about the other two assassinations as well.

I know those murders changed the course of history and changed the outlook, at least subliminally, for lots of us.

[bobbieinok]

9. I remember that day so clearly! I was in CA and had voted for McCarthy. Results had just come out

[bobbieinok]

10. JFK 1963, Bobby 68---Teddy?? Many feared he'd be killed if he won in 80

I know that was one of the reasons I voted for Carter rather than Teddy in the primary

Those not alive then may not realize the deep fear that many of us had that Teddy would be murdered too if he also ran for president