John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
The John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame is a presidential memorial at the gravesite of assassinated United States President John F. Kennedy, in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. This permanent site replaced a temporary grave and eternal flame used at the time of Kennedy's state funeral on November 25, 1963, three days after his assassination. The site was designed by architect John Carl Warnecke, a long-time friend of Kennedy.[1][2] The permanent John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame grave site was consecrated and opened to the public on March 15, 1967.[3]
"Kennedy Grave" redirects here. For the burial place of Robert F. Kennedy, see Grave of Robert F. Kennedy.John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
3 acres (1.2 ha)
November 25, 1963 (temporary)
March 15, 1967 (permanent)
Consecration of the new grave[edit]
The permanent John F. Kennedy grave site opened with little announcement or fanfare on March 15, 1967. A few days before, the eternal flame had been moved from its temporary location to the new site.[59] The reburial of the bodies occurred on the evening of March 14, after Arlington National Cemetery had closed.[3] Earth over the existing grave was removed, and a small crane was used to lift the burial vault (which remained unopened) from the old grave and place it in the new one.[60] The event was unannounced.[59] The transfer was witnessed by U.S. senators Robert and Ted Kennedy, and Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston.[54] Exhumation began at 6:19 PM and was complete at 9:00 PM.[54] Consecration of the new burial site occurred at 7:00 AM on March 15, 1967, in a driving rain.[3] The ceremony, which took 20 minutes, was attended by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, and several members of the Kennedy family.[3][54] Cardinal Cushing presided over the consecration.[54] The final cost of the entire project was $2.2 million.[3] Landscaping around the permanent site was not complete at the time of its consecration, and continued for several more weeks.[47]
State funeral of John F. Kennedy
List of memorials to John F. Kennedy
Presidential memorials in the United States
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