Sunday Newscape Magazine

As dusk settled over Arlington National cemetery this evening, Senator Edward M. Kennedy was laid to rest.

He joins his two slain brothers, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.

On a sloping hillside facing the Potomac, the Monuments and the Capitol, Senator Kennedy was buried only a short distance from where his brothers are buried, and where an eternal flame lights the graves not only of the former president and the former First Lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, but also the graves of their baby son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy - who died after two days - and an unnamed stillborn daughter.

There is, of course, a lot of history, tradition and honor at and about Arlington National Cemetery

The Home Page of the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) official web site has this introduction:

For the almost four million people who visit annually, Arlington National Cemetery represents many different things. For some, it is a chance to walk among headstones that chronicle American history; for many, it is an opportunity to remember and honor the nation’s war heroes; and for others, it is a place to say a last farewell during funeral services for a family member or friend.

The grave site of the members of the Kennedy family have brought added interest - and visitors - to the Cemetery.

According to the ANC: President John F. Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on November 25, 1963. Within three years, more than 16 million people had visited his gravesite. To better accommodate the large number of visitors, cemetery officials and Kennedy family members decided to create a more suitable site. The final resting place was completed on July 20, 1967.

During the period of construction, President Kennedy and his two deceased children were quietly reinterred to the permanent grave, and Archbishop Cushing formally blessed the new site in a private service, which was attended by Mrs. Kennedy, Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson.

The 3.2 acre site is located on the slope below Arlington House. For the gravesite, the family selected irregular Cape Cod granite paving stones, which had been quarried in 1817 from near the president’s home. Clover and sedum were planted in the crevices to recall a natural Massachusetts field setting.

The entire site was set aside by the secretary of the Army, with the approval of the secretary of defense, to honor the memory of the president. The land has been retained for the nation as a whole and has not been deeded to the Kennedy family. The steep hillside has never been considered suitable for graves or a general burial location.

At the wish of Mrs. Kennedy, an eternal flame, inspired by the one in Paris that marks the French Unknown Soldier, sits at the head of the grave.

On June 8, 1968, Robert Kennedy was buried alongside his brother. Because of a delay, the funeral service had to be postponed until late at night, so 1500 candles were distributed to the mourners. This was the only time a funeral service has taken place at night at Arlington National Cemetery, although Senator Kennedy's funeral took place as darkness fell over this hallowed ground.

On May 23, 1994, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was buried next to President Kennedy. The gravesite was completed with addition of her grave marker Oct. 6, 1994

This evening, the man who 41 years ago said the following unforgettable words about one of his brothers, Bobby, joined him and his eldest brother, Jack, at that very same gravesite.

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

Now, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, rests below two beautiful maple trees with his brothers.

Soon, a simple white oak cross and a white marble foot marker will welcome visitors to the Senator's final resting place.

The marble marker will read: Edward Moore Kennedy  1932-2009 

Note: Senator Edward Kennedy is eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery because he was a former member of the armed services. He served as a private first class in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged in 1953. Other sources say his eligibility also stems from his tenure as a U.S. Senator.

For rules of eligibility for internment at the Arlington National Cemetery, please go to “A Guide to Burial at Arlington National Cemetery.”