Eleven days before the tragic assassination that shocked the world, President John F. Kennedy visited Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day in 1963. Little did anyone know this solemn place would soon become his final resting ground and a lasting memorial. On November 22, 1963, during a fateful trip to Dallas, President Kennedy was killed, leaving the nation in deep mourning and setting the stage for the creation of the President John F. Kennedy Memorial at Arlington.
President Kennedy holds the distinction of being one of only two U.S. presidents interred at Arlington National Cemetery, alongside William Howard Taft. While initial thoughts considered Brookline, Massachusetts, his birthplace and childhood home, as a potential burial site, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a location accessible to all Americans. This vision led her to Arlington, a site chosen in consultation with Robert F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, both of whom would also later be laid to rest at Arlington. The original gravesite was thoughtfully positioned on a gentle slope, aligned between Arlington House and the Lincoln Memorial, symbolizing Kennedy’s place in the continuum of American leadership.
The state funeral for President Kennedy commenced at 3 p.m. on November 25, 1963, a day etched in global memory. Dignitaries from around the world, including President Charles de Gaulle of France, Chancellor Ludwig Erhard of West Germany, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, gathered to pay their respects. A poignant aerial salute of fifty Navy and Air Force jets, followed by a final, wing-dipping tribute from Air Force One, marked the solemn occasion. Televised globally, the funeral drew unprecedented viewership, and in its wake, Arlington National Cemetery experienced a surge in requests for burials, reflecting the profound national impact of Kennedy’s death.
Initially, the gravesite was a modest 20-by-30-foot plot, enclosed by a simple white picket fence. In the year following President Kennedy’s death, the site became a place of pilgrimage, receiving up to 3,000 visitors per hour, and an estimated 50,000 on weekends. Within three years, over 16 million people had visited to pay their respects at President John F. Kennedy Memorial, highlighting the immense public desire to connect with his memory.
Faced with these overwhelming numbers, cemetery officials and the Kennedy family recognized the need for a more permanent and suitable memorial. Construction began in 1965 and culminated on July 20, 1967, with the dedication of the redesigned President John F. Kennedy Memorial. At its heart lies an eternal flame, ignited by Mrs. Kennedy, emanating from a five-foot circular granite stone marking the head of the grave. This eternal flame has become a powerful and enduring symbol of Kennedy’s enduring legacy and the nation’s collective memory of his ideals.
The Kennedy family contributed to the costs of the immediate gravesite area, while the federal government allocated $1,770,000 as part of the 1965 Public Works appropriation to enhance the surrounding area and accommodate the vast number of visitors. This ensured the President John F. Kennedy Memorial could properly serve as a place of reflection for the American public.
The President John F. Kennedy Memorial area at Arlington has also become the final resting place for other members of the Kennedy family. Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated in 1968, was interred nearby in 1971. Senator Edward M. Kennedy was buried in an adjacent plot following his death in 2009. A memorial marker honors Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., President Kennedy’s eldest brother. First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was laid to rest beside President Kennedy on May 23, 1994, completing the family circle at this significant memorial site. The President John F. Kennedy Memorial stands as a testament to a leader lost too soon and a place where his legacy and the enduring spirit of his vision are perpetually honored.
