Juan Romero, busboy who aided wounded Robert Kennedy, dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Juan Romero, a hotel busboy who came to the aid of Robert F. Kennedy after the New York senator was shot in Los Angeles, has died. He was 68.

Longtime family friend Rigo Chacon said Thursday that Romero had died at a Modesto, California, hospital on Monday, following a heart attack.

Romero was a teenager in June 1968 when Kennedy was shot in the head while walking through the Ambassador Hotel kitchen after his victory in the California presidential primary.

Romero held the mortally wounded Kennedy, struggling to keep the senator's head from hitting the floor. He placed Rosary beads in Kennedy's hand and reassured the senator everything would be all right.

The moment, captured on film, became an iconic image that haunted Romero for most of his life because Kennedy had stopped to shake his hand moments before he was shot.

For many years, Romero blamed himself for Kennedy's death – wondering if he could have done something to prevent the shooting or if Kennedy might have survived if he had not stopped to shake his hand.

Eventually Romero overcame his guilt, thanks in part to the support of Kennedy fans who told him that he was an example of the type of people Kennedy sought to help in making racial equality and civil rights a cornerstone of his life's work.