
John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame - Arlington, VA
N 38° 52.892 W 077° 04.291
18S E 320317 N 4305670
Eternal Flame at John F. Kennedy's grave in Arlington National Cemetery.
Waymark Code: WM17XM0
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/17/2023
Views: 10
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. The permanent John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame grave site was consecrated and opened to the public on March 15, 1967.
In 2013, the Eternal Flame was shared for the first time in its history. On June 18, a U.S. Army honor guard accompanied Irish Minister of State Paul Kehoe, T.D., in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kennedy grave site. An Irish Army officer, accompanied by an Irish Army honor guard, lit a lamp in a metal burner from the Eternal Flame. The "spark" traveled back to Ireland aboard a special Aer Lingus flight, accompanied by Kehoe, Irish Army personnel, and a delegation from the New Ross Town Council.
The "spark" arrived at Dublin Airport on June 20, where Kehoe transferred the flame to Colonel Brendan Delaney. Delaney transferred the flame to officers of the Irish Naval Service. The flame was taken by the Naval vessel LÉ Orla (P41), which traversed the Irish Sea and sailed up the River Barrow to New Ross[78] (the town which John F. Kennedy's great-grandfather emigrated from in 1848). On June 22, several Irish Special Olympians carried the flame from the Orla to a ceremony at the Kennedy Homestead. -
John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame