Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years (No Series)
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While inspecting the miserable conditions for farm workers in upstate New York, Senator Robert Kennedy speaks with the young son of a farm worker family who lived in the hulk of an abandoned car. Always attuned to the feelings of children, Kennedy developed a deep sense of empathy for America’s afflicted after his brother’s assassination, an empathy that reflected his own wounded condition. Courtesy Adam Walinsky
Bobby strides briskly outside the Capitol Building with his two young Senate aides, Peter Edelman (center) and Adam Walinsky. RFK’s staffers pushed him toward his inevitable showdown with President Johnson over the Vietnam War. Who were we, Kennedy declared in a passionate Senate speech cowritten by Walinsky, “to play the role of an avenging angel pouring death and destruction” from above on the people of Vietnam? Courtesy Adam Walinsky, photo by George Tames: © New York Times Magazine/ Redux
Bobby waves to ecstatic supporters during his tumultuous 1968 presidential race, surrounded by a tumbling Ethel and several of their children, as aide Fred Dutton (far right) walks alongside the campaign car and bodyguard Bill Barry keeps a protective hold on the candidate. Despite the physical dangers, Kennedy gave himself to the crowds, wading into the wounded heart of American democracy with heroic confidence. Courtesy JFK Library
Seconds after being shot in the head, Kennedy lies in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor of the Ambassador Hotel, held by seventeen-year-old busboy Juan Romero. Bobby’s face “had a kind of sweet acceptance to it,” observed reporter Pete Hamill—he looked like a man who had been released. Photograph by Bill Eppridge/LIFE/©Time Inc.
Press secretary Frank Mankiewicz wipes away tears as he announces the death of Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 6, 1968. Bobby had asked his trusted aide to help him find the truth about Dallas. Now their mission would never be completed. Photo by Bill Eppridge