John F. Kennedy Burial Ground


Introduction Bibliography Pictures
Interesting Facts Links Videos


Introduction


              On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery two days later. During the burial service President Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline, became the first person to light the eternal flame. She had requested that this kind of everlasting flame be built at her husband's burial site to remind people that he was our fallen leader. Over 16 million people came to Arlington to visit this original burial ground within the first three years of Kennedy's death.With this many visitors, a decision was reached to construct a new gravesite for the Kennedys. Located only a few feet away from the original, this new gravesite covers 3.2 acres of land and receives over 4 million tourists a year. It includes the graves of JFK, his  late wife, Jacqueline, his infant son, Patrick Bouvier, and his unnamed infant daughter. The site also includes an engraving of his Inaugural Address and a newly constructed eternal flame that is always kept burning brightly in remembrance of the thirty-fifth president of the United States.

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Bibliography

Maguire, Jack. An eternal flame for a fallen president. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/eternalflame.htm

Arlington national cemetery website john fitzgerald kennedy president of the united states. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jfk.htm

Jfk’s body moved to permanent gravesite. 2011. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jfks-body-moved-to-permanent-gravesite

John f. kennedy. 2010. http://library.thinkquest.org/2901/JFK.HTM

Visitor information monument and memorials president john fitzgerald kennedy. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/visitor_information/JFK.html#top

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Pictures

John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

John F. Kennedy was originally buried in Arlington on November 25, 1963.

 This original burial ground was a popular site for tourists to visit at Arlington National Cemetery.

JFK's coffin was moved to its pertinent position in Arlington National Cemetery on March 14, 1967.

Today the new JFK memorial is also a popular tourist attraction.

JFK is buried next to his wife, Jacqueline and 2 of his deceased children.

 JFK's wife, Jacqueline B. Kennedy, was buried next to him in 1994 after dying of cancer.


JFK's tomb stone reads;
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
1917-1963.


Along with his wife, JFK is also buried next to two of his deceased children. JFK's tombstone is accompanied by the eternal flame. JFK's family visits his grave.




JFK's memorial is located in spot 1 on this map of Arlington National Cemetery.
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Interesting Facts
  • Just twelve days before his assassination, JFK visited Arlington National Cemetery with his son.
  • The final decision to have President Kennedy buried at Arlington National Cemetery was made by his wife, Jackie, on November 24, 1963.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             She remarked, "He belongs to the people."
  • JFK's funeral was held at Saint Mathew's Cathedral on November 25, 1963. The funeral was followed by a procession that marched all the way to Arlington National Cemetery.
  • Jackie proposed the idea of the eternal flame during funeral preparations, and on November 25,1963, she became the first to light the flame. She received the idea from the French  Memorial to the Unknown Soldier in Paris.
  • On December 4, 1963, two of JFK's deceased children, an unnamed infant daughter and an infant son named Patrick, were brought to Arlington National Cemetery to be buried by their father.

  • The original burial ground was surrounded by a white picket fence and was visited by over 16 million people.
  • Because of the large amount of tourists and the danger of the open flame, a decision was reached to reconstruct a new gravesite for the Kennedys.
  • In 1965, the construction of the new gravesite began. It was completed on July 20, 1967.
  • The new site is located very close to the original, and it takes up a total of 3.2 acres.
  • Jacqueline Kennedy was buried next to her husband on May 23, 1994, after dying of cancer.
  • The gravesite was completed on October 6,1994.

                                                    The memorial includes:
                                
                                                                           -  4 tomb stones- John F. Kennedy
                                                                                                      Jacqueline Kennedy
                                                                                                      Patrick Bouvier Kennedy                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                      Unnamed infant daughter
                                                                           -  The eternal flame- always kept lit
                                                                           -  An engraving of President Kennedy's Inaugural Address from July 20, 1961:                                                                                    

Let the word go forth
From this time and place
To friend and foe alike
That the torch has been passed
To a new generation of Americans.

Let every nation know
Whether it wishes us well or ill
That we shall pay any price - bear any burden
Meet any hardship - support any friend
Oppose any foe to assure the survival
And the success of liberty

Now the trumpet summons us again
Not as a call to bear arms
- though embattled we are 
But a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle 
A struggle against the common enemies of man Tyranny - Poverty - Disease - and War itself

In the long history of the world
Only a few generations have been granted
The role of defending freedom
In the hour of maximum danger
I do not shrink from this responsibility
I welcome it

The Energy - the Faith - the Devotion
Which we bring to this endeavor
Will light our country
And all who serve it
And the glow from that fire
Can truly light the world

And so my fellow Americans
Ask not what your country can do for you
Ask what you can do for your country
My fellow citizens of the world - ask not
What America can do for you - but what together
We can do for the freedom of man

With a good conscience our only sure reward
With history the final judge of our deeds
Let us go forth to lead the land we love - asking His blessing
And his help - but knowing that here on earth
God's work must truly be our own.

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Links

 For more information on John F. Kennedy's burial site, try these websites:

http://library.thinkquest.org/2901/JFK.HTM

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jfks-body-moved-to-permanent-gravesite

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jfk.htm

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/visitor_information/JFK.html

For more information on the eternal flame and its original designer, Colonel Clayton B. Lyle, try this website:

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/eternalflame.htm


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Videos


To watch a video of John F. Kennedy's coffin being brought to Arlington National Cemetery on November 25, 1963, click hear:






To watch a video of John F. Kennedy's grave site, click hear:






To watch a video on the restoration of John F. Kennedy's grave, click here:



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Mary Robinson
student at St. Gabriel School
4-11-11