ARLINGTON, Va. - s4story -- by  Michael Bishop for David Bruce Smith's Grateful American Book Prize

Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy stood before an enormous crowd of deliriously happy supporters in the ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and claimed victory in the California presidential primary. At forty-two, he had been borne along by the power of his name and the public's widespread Vietnam War "fatigue." It seemed probable that another Kennedy would soon ascend to the White House.

He concluded his remarks with the declaration, "Now it's on to Chicago, and let's win there!"

Trailed by admirers and hangers-on, Kennedy walked into the hotel kitchen; he was to be driven away from there, but an assassin lay in wait: Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian enraged by the Senator's support of Israel, shot him in the head and body; others were also hit. A haunting image of Kennedy laying on the floor with his head supported by a stricken busboy, sped around the world. Kennedy was taken to the nearby Good Samaritan Hospital, where he lingered until his death the following day.

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Later, Vice President Hubert Humphrey got the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was defeated in a close election with former Vice President Richard Nixon.

For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Last Patrician: Bobby Kennedy and the End of American Aristocracy by Michael Knox Beran.

History Matters is a feature courtesy of the Grateful American Book Prize.

The Grateful American Book Prize is awarded each year to high quality, 7th to 9th grade level, historical fiction, and non-fiction, about events and personalities that have shaped the United States since its founding. For more book recommendations and information about the annual award visit https://gratefulamericanbookprize.org/.