Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy was born in 1925 and died in 1968. He was the brother of the John F. Kennedy, and served as Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. He resigned to run for the Senate, and took office in New York in 1965.When the election of 1968 came around, Kennedy decided to run. Lyndon Johnson decided not to run again, but the vice president, Hubert Humphrey, chose to run. He would have missed many of the primaries, but he was supported by many Democrats. After the California primary, Kennedy was behind Humphrey.Kennedy ended up winning the state's Democratic presidential election and addressed his supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles around midnight. Bobby didn't have much security, only a former FBI Agent and two unofficial body guards, two professional athletes. Kennedy was supposed to walk through the ballroom after giving his speech because he liked to talk and shake hands with people, but that is not what happened. There was supposed to be a press conference with little time, so William Barry, the former FBI agent, told him they would be going through the kitchen and pantry.Kennedy got lost follwing Barry to the kitchen, and started to follow a man that worked at the hotel named Karl Ueker through a back exit. Ueker would hold Bobby's wrist, but let go frequently when he would shake people's hands. The two walked past, and Bobby shook his hand, a busboy named Juan Romero and Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Bobby. After they were passed him, Sirhan Sirhan ran past Karl Ueker and shot Bobby Kennedy several times with a revolver.Bobby immediately fell to the floor and the body guards, Karl Ueker, and William Barry disarmed Sirhan Sirhan. After they disarmed him, Barry ran to Bobby and tried to help him by laying something under his head. He said that he knew right away that it was a small rifle so it couldn't have been to bad, but when he got over to Bobby, he saw the whole in his head and knew it couldn't be good. Juan Romero rushed to where Kennedy was laying and held a rosary in his hand. Kennedy asked if everybody was ok, and Juan responded that everything was going to be fine.
Ethel, Bobby's wife, finally got to where he was and he recognized her. They took him to a hospital about a mile away, and Ethel got to hear her husband's heartbeat. They eventually transferred him to another hospital and started surgery that lasted about three hours and fourty minutes, but doctors said that his condition was 'extremely critical as to life'.
<Bobby was shot three times. Once by the ear about an inch away, and twice by his armpit with one bullet exiting through his chest and one stuck in his neck. Bobby Kennedy died 26 hours after being shot.Sirhan Sirhan was an anti-Zionist Christian. These entries were found in his diary, "My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more and more of an unshakable obsession. RFK must die. RFK must be killed. Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated...Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated before 5 June 68." Sirhan Sirhan started to hate Kennedy after learning of his support for Israel. Obviously, Sirhan had mental issues as well. He was sentenced to death, but because of law, was sentenced to life in prison, and is still being held at the California State Prison today.
I think it is a shame that a man like Robert Kennedy was shot. He was a young man that could have done a lot for this country. The Kennedy family has gone through quite a bit with many deaths, and they are a very strong family. Ethel has never remarried, and the two have eleven children. It is very sad that this event happened, and I think Robert Kennedy could have accomplished a lot for this country.
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