Kennedy assassination still
haunts reporter on scene
EDITOR S NOTE: — AP Hollywood
reporter Bob Thomas was assigned to
cover Robert F. Kennedy on the night of
the 1968 California Presidential Prima
ry. It turned out to he a story he will never
forget
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The noise sound
ed like balloons popping on New Year s
Eve. Then came the screams. 1 ran into
the kitchen and saw a hellish scene.
"My God. he's been shot!*' someone
shrieked. “The senator’s been shot."
I had been assigned to cover Robert F.
Kennedy on June 4. 1968, the night of the
California presidential primary.
When I arrived at the Ambassador
Hotel, Democrats in the Embassy Room
were already celebrating, even though the
polls had not yet closed. A jazz band
blared George M. Cohan songs, straw-hat
ted party loyalists stood two-deep at the
bar. I spoke to a few of the movie celebri
ties, then reported to the press room near
the entrant* to the ballroom.
Throughout the long evening. I shut
tled back and forth between the rooms,
always by the quickest route, the kitchen.
The candidate remained in his suite
upstairs
Near midnight, a press aide told us that
Kennedy would lie coming dow n to make
his victory speech, then proceed directly
to the press room to answer questions
I decided to remain in the press room,
because the AP office could cover the
speech from television I watched the
monitor as Kennedy made his cry for
healing the wounds of Vietnam, then dis
appeared with his group through the
handstand curtains amid still-ringing
cheers
Then it happened
The noise was deafening when I
reached the Kite hen Men were shouting,
women wailing I saw athletes Rafer |ohn
son and Rosev Grier pinning someone
against a table Others stood in a cin le.
staring downward in absolute shock
I couldn't see what they were looking
at, so I leaped on a table (later I disi ov
ered it was a stack of kitchen travs). I
gazed down and saw Bobby Kennedy
lying on the cement floor, blood stream
ing from his head, eyes staring sightless
ly into the void.
Turn to KENNEDY, Page 6
Dream weaver
ptvo«o t>v i Cn»mm}
Fine and applied arts senior Maryann Kelley concentrates on com
pleting her final project tor Advanced Fibers She is weaving a multi
colored mat
RFK
Continued from Page 1
returning as a hero to the Middle
Hast has faded. If released after
his ninth parole hearing next
year, he will be 50 years old. hav
ing spent half his life locked up.
Israel and the Arabs are in the
midst of lumbering negotiations
over the Arabs' demand to recov
er lost territory and Israel’s bid
for a secure peace. The hatred
and violent* that shaped Sirhan's
childhood is unchanged.
Where would the river of his
lory hove flowed without
Sirhan's insane act in the pantry
of a Los Angeles hotel?
• • •
"Kennedy was doing a lot of
things behind my back,” Sirhan
shouted in the courtroom at his
murder trial
The young Sirhan had been
uprooted from his home in Ior
dan by the Arab-lsraeli war in
194B. His dislike for Jews was no
secret from those who knew him.
The Six-Day War "was all we
talked about.” an acquaintance
said.
He described an Arab soldier
allowing him to look through
binoculars at the lewish part of
lerusalem "That s our land out
there, our land," Sirhan remem
bered being told. "I didn’t under
stand what he meant, but now I
understand."
He was calm throughout his
testimony except when he was
asked about Israel At those times
he could barely contain his agi
tation.
When he talked about his life
in America, Sirhan recalled
watching a television documen
tary that showed Robert
Kennedy, years before, ns n
young reporter for the Huston
Globe in Israel, helping to cele
brate that country's indepen
dence in ltMH
Sirhan said he jotted his May
18 "RFK must die" note after
hearing Kennedy on the radio
advocating sending 50 fighter
planes to Israel
“Did you shoot Robert F.
Kennedy?" asked Sirhan's attor
ney. Grant Cooper.
"Yes, sir."
"Did you hear any ill will
toward Sen Kennedy?"
“No."
Four million people u year vis
it the grave of John F Kennedy
in Arlington National Cemetery.
The site has an exceptional view
In a straight line, the eye falls on
the Lincoln Memorial, the Wash
ington Monument and in the dis
tance. the United States Capitol.
The majestic words of the presi
dent, so well known, are carver!
in granite
To the right and a few steps
Iwthind is a small reflecting pool
and a white cross Robert
Kennedy, as always, is at his
brother's side
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