Rosey Grier recalls the killing of Bobby Kennedy and his arrest of Sirhan Sirhan

Rosey Grier recalls the killing of Bobby Kennedy and his arrest of Sirhan Sirhan
Today is the 40th anniversary of his murder

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


BEVERLY HILLS, CA (ANS) -- On June 5, 1968, a man called Sirhan Sirhan, who was born in Jerusalem to Christian Palestinian parents, fired a .22 caliber Iver Johnson Cadet revolver into the crowd surrounding Senator Bobby Kennedy in the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This occurred shortly after Kennedy had finished addressing supporters in the hotel's main ballroom.


 

It was then that George Plimpton, Rosey Grier (a writer, NFL defensive lineman, and Kennedy's close friend/bodyguard), and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson were among several men who subdued and disarmed Sirhan after a lengthy struggle.









Rosey Grier being interviewed by Dan Wooding


The giant of a man, Grier, agreed to talk about this fateful event at the recent Movieguide® 16th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.


"Bobby had just made a speech and we were getting ready to go some place else but, somehow or another, Bobby jumped off the back of the stage and everyone was out of position and by the time we caught up with him when shots rang out," said Grier. "We were running to see we could stop all the violence that was going on and then we saw Sirhan with the gun so I went and pulled him up on the stage and then up on a table.








Bobby Kennedy after he had been shot


"George Plimpton had been struggling with the gun hand and I just wrenched it out of Sirhan's hand and put it in my pocket. Later on Rafer Johnson asked me if I had it and I gave it to him."


The assassination of Bobby Kennedy followed the killing of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

"It was a tragedy for the world because here we all were trying to make our world a better place and then evil erupts like this," said Grier, an ordained minister.

I asked Grier how different the world would have been if the Kennedy brothers had lived.

"Well, at that time, there was a spirit a spirit of togetherness in this country; of people helping one another; caring for one another and not sitting on the fence, but getting involved and making the world a better place and that's what should be happening today.

"We are all going to have to get involved if our world is going to turn around from where it's going."

I asked Grier if he ever despaired with all the violence still going on around the world.

"Well, violence is very prevalent in the world today," he said. "People are hating one another and they don't know why, and the violence has gotten so bad that we have people blowing themselves up to try and hurt people. To me, we don't know how to deal with that, so I think one way we can help is to learn to respect our friends and neighbors and care about them and that, in itself, will stop a lot of the violence eventually. But it's going to take a great move of God."

Grier added, "The only way the violence is going to stop spreading is when we stop participating in it. In other words, we have a chance to influence the areas that we're in and if we sit silently by while someone is putting another race of people down, or another color of person down, problems will continue. We all have to stand up and say, 'Wait a minute. This is not the way we should do this.' Let us respect the rights of all people and want the very best for them and even fight for their rights.

"So this is the way we start and I know that a lot of people are doing it already but everyone needs to know that they are precious and valuable and they have a responsibility and an opportunity themselves to get involved by doing it."










Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 44 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.

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