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| Photo by aurélien. |
Visitors to the grave will see JFK’s burial plaque in the ground together with his wife next to him. On the far sides, one can also see two smaller plaques. These are for the two of Kennedy’s children, who also are buried on the site. One of them, a son, was born five and a half weeks prematurely and died two days later. The other, a daughter, was dead on birth.
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| John F. Kennedy |
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or “JFK” as he is also known, was born in 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. John was the second son of Joseph P Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, whose father was a prominent Boston politician. JFK however, didn’t become a politician right away. After his studies, which included several public and private schools and an international affairs degree from Harvard, John volunteered for the US Army during the Second World War. He served several years in the US Navy, first in office and then later on the field where he took part in several missions in the Pacific.
John older brother, Joseph Jr., was the one who were suppose to carry the family’s political traditions on. However, Joseph served as a pilot during the Second World War and was killed during one of his missions. Joseph’s death was one of the reasons John decided to get involved in politics. He became the 35th US President after beating Richard Nixon in one of the closest presidential races in the 20th century.
John F Kennedy was a strong believer in civil rights, which came to shape his domestic and foreign policies. He is also known for his famous speeches. During his inaugural address, he delivered the legendary; “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. He was the president in a very tough era. He was facing the Cold War, with the newly erected Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crises.
On November 22nd, 1963, President Kennedy was shot and killed in an open limousine during a parade on a campaign trip to Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the schoolbook depository from which the shots were suspected to have been fired from, was arrested and charged with the assassination of Kennedy. He denied shooting anyone and claimed he was set up. Before any trials could be held, Oswald himself was shot at point-blank range and killed during the move to a high security prison. The motives for all these shootings are still to a large extent unknown.
It was his wife’s wish to place the eternal flame on his grave. The flame was inspired by the French Tomb of the Unknown Solider under the Arch of Triumph in Paris, which they had visited earlier in 1961. The planners who were organizing the funeral granted her request immediately and rushed to implement it. Overnight, the engineers ran a gas line to the planned grave site, fed by propane tanks from a distance. The state funeral was held on November 25th, 1963, where several heads of states were attending. At the end of the burial service, Jacqueline Kennedy lit the flame with a lightened taper.
Over the years, the JFK Eternal Flame has been visited by millions of people. It has become a symbol for JFK and what he stood for. The memorial has been the official postage stamp, with a picture of the flame together with the text: "And the glow from that fire can truly light the world".
Text Source: worldsiteguides.com
