11/22/2023 0 Comments Rfk assassination busboy photoJuan Romero says now he has a sense of purpose to keep that sacrifice and the memory of Robert Kennedy alive, saying it makes his past more tolerable. I can see the sadness-the sacrifice that he made," said Romero. "Now that I can look at it and see it, I can see what people are looking at. Until recently, Romero never wanted to look at the iconic picture of him and a wounded Senator Kennedy. "It just felt like a big relief off my shoulders that I didn't have to feel guilt anymore," said Romero. Only after talking with her did he release decades of blame and realize he was not responsible for what happened. She believes it's real and that's all that matters," said Romero. Three years ago, his German friend gave him a Robert Kennedy autographed paper. He only recently stepped out of the shadow of guilt thanks to an unlikely friendship with a woman in Germany he met through Facebook. Today Romero lives in San Jose and works in construction. The other one is that that I set him up," said Romero. "I was told I could have sacrificed myself for him. This June, he turns 67.įor almost five decades, he questioned if he could have done more that day after receiving letters from strangers. Juan Romero was 17-years-old at the time. I would say 'Are you okay? Can you get up?' and all I could see was just one eye blinking and then a leg was shaking." I knew it was a lot more serious," said Romero. "Then I realized how I could feel the blood streaming through my fingers. As soon as I put my hand there I felt blood, warm blood coming out."Īs captured in a black-and-white photograph, Romero, who was a busboy at the Ambassador Hotel, knelt to help Bobby Kennedy not realizing the Presidential candidate had been shot in the head. "I tried to put my hand between his head and the concrete to make it a little more comfortable. "I couldn't understand why he was laying there and no one was trying to help him," Romero recalled. Just after shaking Romero's hand, shots rang out. Senator Kennedy had just won California's Presidential Primary and was leaving through a Los Angeles hotel kitchen shaking hands along the way. Romero is still brought to tears remembering June 5, 1968. "It doesn't get any easier every year," said Romero. Even though the assassination of Senator Kennedy was nearly half a century ago, the memory and pain of that American tragedy for the San Jose grandfather is still very personally present.
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