Busboy Juan Romero, 17, comforts Sen. Robert F. Kennedy moments after Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968. See full story(Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times)
Juan Romero and his daughter, Elda Romero, walk through Arlington National Cemetery on their way to visit the grave of Robert F. Kennedy. Saturday would have been the slain senator’s 85th birthday. See full story(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Juan Romero spends time with himself before visiting RFK’s grave. Getting up the courage to visit Arlington National Cemetery was not easy for Romero, a construction worker from San Jose who has been haunted for decades by the events of June 5, 1968. See full story(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Juan Romero, with daughter Elda next to him, kneels at RFK’s grave site. He wore a suit for the first time in his life, saying it was the proper way to show his respect for a man whose memory he has tried to honor by living a life of tolerance and humility. See full story(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Romero holds himself at least partly responsible for Kennedys death, and in his private moment with RFK now, he wanted to ask forgiveness. See full story(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
For years, Romero had avoided talking about his small part in a national tragedy, but he came to believe it was his duty to speak up about his own take on Kennedy’s legacy, in part because hatred and small-mindedness often pollute the national conversation. See full story(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Juan Romero in 1968 during an interview after Kennedy’s slaying. Juan’s family moved to California from Mexico when he was 10. He might have gotten caught up in the gang life except that his stepfather yanked him out of that world and helped get him a job at the Ambassador Hotel. See full story(Los Angeles Times)
