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John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame
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The John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame is a presidential memorial at the gravesite of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in Arlington National Cemetery. The gravesite is aligned with the Lincoln Memorial across the Memorial Bridge.
After the assassination of JFK, the widowed First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, requested an eternal flame for his gravesite.
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The John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame is a presidential memorial at the gravesite of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in Arlington National Cemetery. The gravesite is aligned with the Lincoln Memorial across the Memorial Bridge.
After the assassination of JFK, the widowed First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, requested an eternal flame for his gravesite. She was inspired by the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which she and her husband had seen during a visit to France in 1961, and/or took inspiration from the "candle in the wind" of Arthurian legend, and the Broadway Play "Camelot."
According to William Manchester's Death of a President (1967), Mrs. Kennedy made her request for an eternal flame on the afternoon of November 24, 1963, after she returned to the White House from the lying-in-state ceremony at the Capitol. The military planners who were organizing the funeral granted her request immediately and rushed to implement it. Overnight, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ran a gas line to the planned gravesite, fed by propane tanks from a distance. On the following day, Jacqueline Kennedy lit the flame at the end of the burial service during the state funeral. She did this by bringing a lighted taper, which was handed to her by a soldier, against the nub of the torch mechanism, which was surrounded by evergreen branches. The eternal flame sprang to life immediately, safely with a steady flame. This was seen live on nationwide television and broadcast to other nations by satellite. The late president's brothers, Robert and Ted, then took turns symbolically lighting the flame in the same manner as their sister-in-law.
The idea of an eternal flame for President Kennedy resonated well with the general public, and in 1964 the U.S. Postal Service used an image of the eternal flame on the official postage stamp that was issued to commemorate the assassinated president. The stamp also used the words "And the glow from that fire can truly light the world" that were an excerpt from Kennedy's inaugural address.
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") stood vigil over President Kennedy's gravesite from 1963 through 1965, at which time work commenced on a new permanent gravesite at the exact same location. This was due to heavy visitation by the public and the need for paved pathways that would not turn muddy in rain or snow. In 1967, the permanent gravesite was completed, with the eternal flame surrounded by Cape Cod field stones and selections from President Kennedy's Inaugural Address etched on marble panels that face the nation's capital. The new eternal flame device was fed by an underground natural gas line designed and created by the Institute of Gas Technology of Chicago.
The selection of an eternal flame to commemorate President Kennedy was the first time in the US that an individual known person was given such an honor (as opposed to an Unknown Soldier). Previously, the only eternal flame within the U.S. was the torch burning constantly at the battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in honor of the dead from the American Civil War. That flame had been lit by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the 75th anniversary of the battle in 1938. Henceforward, eternal flames would come to be designated more frequently around the world to honor the loss of persons of great significance, in addition to major tragic and momentous events. The eternal flame is essentially a symbol of remembrance. It is a sign that President Kennedy's memory is still alive today.
The present device rests on top of a five-foot circular granite stone at the head of the grave. It produces a continuous spark which re-ignites the flame whenever it is momentarily extinguished by any means (such as rain, snow, or wind). The device blows a continuous flow of air at the flame, keeping it a uniform color.
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