RFK: 40 years later

In 1968, thousands of Americans were given that opportunity when a New York senator by the name of Robert F. Kennedy thrust himself onto the political scene and forever transformed the country before having his life and the dreams of thousands washed away upon his assassination.

Robert Francis “Bobby” Kennedy, better known as RFK, was the younger brother of former President John F. Kennedy and served under his presidency as U.S. Attorney General from 1961-1964. After his brother’s assassination he served out his remaining nine months as Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson, only to resign in September of 1964 after disagreements over the Vietnam War, among other things, erupted between the two.

In November of 1964, Kennedy was elected as a United States Senator from New York. In early 1968, after Johnson narrowly upset Eugene McCarthy in the New Hampshire Primary, Kennedy announced his candidacy for president stating:

"I do not run for the Presidency merely to oppose any man, but to propose new policies. I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done, and I feel that I'm obliged to do all I can."

Kennedy was a strong opponent during the election, gathering large crowds and passionate supporters in every state he campaigned in. On June 5, Kennedy delivered his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California after gaining a slight victory over McCarthy in the California Primary.

Standing at Kennedy’s side that night was Paul Schrade, head of the United Auto Workers Union and close friend of Kennedy. Schrade, who is originally from Saratoga Springs, met Kennedy while working on his brother’s campaign in 1960.

According to Schrade, he had not even planned on attending the victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel that night, but while driving home from the airport that day he heard how close the race was and decided he better be there to help out.

He arrived at the hotel meeting up with Kennedy and eventually found himself on stage with him during his victory speech in the hotel’s ballroom. That night, Kennedy did not know what was to come; however, the irony of his speech was that it revolved around violence.

"What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by an assassin's bullet ... A sniper is a coward, not a hero." Kennedy proclaimed. “No one, no matter where he lives or what he does, can be certain whom next will suffer from such a senseless act of bloodshed."

Upon exiting the stage, Kennedy asked Schrade if he would join him. Schrade said they were originally supposed to go off to the right of the stage in order to enter a room full of supporters, but Kennedy exited to the left, so he could meet with the print media because they hadn’t had much access to him throughout the day.

Kennedy asked Schrade to join him during the press conference. After exiting the stage they entered the pantry room and Kennedy stopped to shake hands with some members of the kitchen staff.

“The next thing I new I had gotten hit and I just started shaking violently and I thought I was being electrocuted because there was a lot of TV equipment around,” Schrade said. “I was in and out of consciousness and had not known that anyone else including Bob had been shot at that point.”

The gunman was a 24-year old Palestinian-born immigrant by the name of Sirhan Sirhan, who shot him based on the senator’s stance on Israel. Schrade, along with four other people, including Kennedy, were shot that night. Kennedy was shot three times, including once behind the ear, which sent fragments throughout his brain and eventually led to his death. Schrade was shot in the center of the forehead, two inches above the hairline passing through the first layer of skull. The doctor told him any further in and the bullet would have killed him.

“I did not know that Bob had been shot until I woke up the next day in the hospital and a friend came in and told me that he had been shot and had died that day,” Schrade said. “It was a horrible time for everybody.”

Later it would emerge that Kennedy’s last words were “Is everybody all right?” Everybody else was, except Kennedy who died the day after the attack. His official time of death was 1:44 a.m. on June 6, 1968, nearly 26 hours after being shot. His assassination provoked the protection of presidential candidates by the United States Secret Service.

Kennedy’s assassination marked the last death in a string of murders that helped define the American political and cultural landscape of the 1960s, which included his brother JFK on November 22, 1963 and his friend Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968—just two months and one day prior to Kennedy being shot. His ability to instill hope and inspiration in thousands of Americans who had been beaten down by a decade of war, protest and poverty had now faded in one fleeting moment of violence.

“There was such a strong feeling for Robert Kennedy because he had identified himself with poor people in this country and other countries…including his commitment to ending the war in Vietnam,” Schrade said. “One of the great things about him was how sensitive he was to peoples’ problems and passionate about solving those problems. He was the best politician I ever knew.”

Kennedy inspired and brought hope to a nation that faced the prospect of war, inequality, hatred, and poverty, many of the qualities that still face the nation today—forty years in the future, Schrade explained. He will forever be remembered for his service to making America a better place through his own vision—a vision that he ultimately gave his life for.