The funeral of John Kennedy , the 35th President of the United States , took place on November 25, 1963 in Washington . The funeral mass was served at St. Matthew's Cathedral, after which Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery , where the Eternal Flame was lit in his honor .
Kennedy was killed on November 22 in Dallas , the next day the coffin with his body was delivered on a presidential plane to Washington. A total of 220 guests of honor (including 19 heads of state) from 92 countries attended the mourning events . The USSR was represented by A.I. Mikoyan . NBC broadcast the funeral via Echo-1 satellite to 23 countries.
Funeral Ceremony
State flags were lowered at state legislatures, administrative buildings, exchanges, schools, prisons, department stores, and private homes. Allegedly, the first flag in the country to turn down the flag on Pennsylvania Avenue [1] .
The funeral procession began on November 25 at 11:30. On this day, the US Supreme Court canceled its meeting in Washington, all business activity in the capital stopped. The funeral ceremony was started by the commander of the Washington Military District, Major General Philip Will. Behind him were drummers, a company of 89 marines with attached bayonets, chiefs of staff and three Kennedy military adjutants. This was followed by a horse-drawn carriage with a coffin, a presidential flag, a horse without a rider, a team of Lieutenant Byrd to carry the coffin, a widow's limousine and nine other cars with Kennedy's relatives. The last car was followed by White House press representatives. The procession was completed by the walking police. On both sides of the coffin were fifty state banners. The carriage stopped at the eastern entrance to the Capitol , from where guests were supposed to arrive. Visitors took the elevator and entered the Rotunda from the south. On the wreath at the tomb was written: “From President Johnson and the nation” [1] . To the north, in Union Park, an artillery battalion fired a salute of twenty-one guns. Then the hymn “Glory to the Leader” followed, interrupted every 5 seconds by a volley of artillery batteries.
It was originally planned that the doors of the Capitol would be open to visitors until nine in the evening, but soon the number of people who wanted to say goodbye to Kennedy reached 200,000 and continued to grow [1] . By midnight, 100,000 people passed through the Capitol [1] . At a quarter past five in the morning, the police reported that they would close the doors at 8:30 and no more than 85,000 people could come [1] . The elderly and blind president of the Republic of Ireland, Imon de Valeru, was allowed to enter the Rotunda without waiting in line, and members of the PT-109 boat, which Kennedy served on, refused the proposed privilege [1] . The cortege was supposed to stop in two places: St. Matthew's Cathedral and Arlington Cemetery. Three processions actually participated in the funeral ceremony: first, military units and the Kennedy family escorted the coffin on a carriage from the Capitol to the White House, then the widow walked at the head of the procession to St. Matthew’s Cathedral and after the funeral mass, the motorcade with the carriage went to Arlington Cemetery through Constance Avenue, Lincoln Monument, Memorial Bridge and Prospect of Fallen Heroes. On the entire route of the motorcade, on both sides, there were crowds of people.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 William Manchester. The assassination of President Kennedy. - Moscow: Progress, 1969.