President John F. Kennedy’s Eternal Flame and grave at Arlington National Cemetery.
Today Americans pause to remember that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this day in 1963 while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The event is so seared in our memories that most Americans who were alive then remember where they were when they heard the President had been shot.
What many people probably do not know is that JFK’s eternal flame at his grave site in Arlington National Cemetery was requested by his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, at least in part because of the impression the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe had had on her when she visited France with her husband in 1961. President Kennedy and French President Charles de Gaulle had a good, diplomatic relationship based on mutual respect. Their relationship was further cemented by Mrs. Kennedy, who wowed the French people with her grace, her style, and her ability to speak French fluently. French President de Gaulle was equally impressed: He is said to have told President Kennedy: “Your wife knows more about French history than any French woman.”
The Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
After her husband was killed, Jacqueline Kennedy requested an eternal flame be part of his grave site. There was some resistance to her request, but Mrs. Kennedy was insistent. The permanent John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame grave site was consecrated and opened to the public on March 15, 1967, which replaced a temporary grave and eternal flame used for Kennedy’s funeral three days after his assassination.
The site was designed by architect John Carl Warnecke, a long-time friend of President Kennedy.
Sadly, tragically, Kennedy was killed on de Gaulle’s 73rd birthday. Kennedy’s eternal flame and death on the French President’s birthday forever link the U.S. and France in friendship and sorrow.
Au revoir.
Image of JFK’s Eternal Flame and Grave Site by Klinton Smith, Flickr, CCBY 2.0. Image of Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe by Elsa L. Fridl.
References:
“JFK and Jackie’s Secret Life Between the (Book) Covers, ” by Thurston Clarke, blogs.wsj.com, published July 25, 2013, 12:00 P.M. ET. Clarke also wrote “JFK’s Last Hundred Days: The Transformation of a Man and The Emergence of a Great President,” published by Penguin Press, 2013.
“John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame,” by Wikipedia, CCBY 3.0.