Remembering Bobby: 40 Years Later

On the heels of Becky's blog, David Whisenant wanted to share what he remembered about the day Bobby Kennedy was killed.

Here's what he writes:

"It was one of those moments you never forget, one that brings back memories of where you were, what you were doing when you heard the news. Bobby Kennedy was shot 40 years ago today. I was just 7 at the time, but I remember it clearly. My family was vacationing at the Cabana Terrace Motel in North Myrtle Beach. We didn't hear the news the night it happened, but the next morning I distinctly remember that the music being played over the speakers around the pool was interrupted by a news bulletin that Kennedy had died.

There were so many images from that moment that have stuck with me over the years. I remember the film of Kennedy making his victory speech after winning the California primary. The ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel was filled with supporters, most appeared to be young, maybe college students. Kennedy was at the podium with his wife Ethel by his side...then the next film clips I remember are the ones that showed the same people crying, clutching tissues to their faces. Then there was the film of Kennedy on the floor of the kitchen in the hotel. Two men were supporting his head, at one point Kennedy's arm was raised up. I think, and I'm not sure about this, but I think I remember that a bus boy at the Ambassador Hotel ran to help Kennedy and he was one of the men holding him while they waited for ambulances to arrive.

There was also the image of Rosey Grier, the huge football player, actor, and needlepoint hobbyist, grabbing the gun still in the hand of Sirhan Sirhan. If I remember correctly, Grier and another man may have broken Sirhan's fingers or hand as they struggled to grab the gun. I also remember the first photographs of Sirhan Sirhan. He looked like an improbable assassin, so young, so confused.
As Americans we would witness a lot more violence in the years following that shooting, the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the violence at the Democratic Convention were two of the notable events.

Regardless of your politics, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy was a tragic event in our nation's history. I still have the Newsweek magazine that came out following the shooting. For me, anniversaries, like the one we note today, aren't just markers of time, they are true milestones of some of the history I've been able to experience outside the confines of a text book."