John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame - Operation of The Site

Operation of The Site

One spontaneous act of respect at the site had to be curbed almost immediately. Jacqueline Kennedy had requested that a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) be part of the military honor squad at President Kennedy's burial service. She specifically asked that the Special Forces soldier wear a green beret rather than formal Army headgear. After the funeral, the six military personnel in the honor guard (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and Special Forces) had spontaneously removed their hats and laid them on the evergreen boughs around the eternal flame. Also laid on the greenery were the insignia of a U.S. Army military policeman and the shoulder braid from a soldier in the 3rd US Infantry Regiment. The presence of the headgear was widely criticized after the dedication of the permanent grave site, and the U.S. Army (which administers Arlington National Cemetery) ordered all such memorabilia removed from the grave in April 1967.

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968. An expansion to the John F. Kennedy grave site was dedicated in 1971 to accommodate Robert Kennedy's grave. Robert F. Kennedy's resting place is only about 50 feet (15 m) southwest from the terrace at the John F. Kennedy site. Robert Kennedy is buried on the upslope side of the walkway, his burial vault marked by a white cross and a slate headstone set flush with the earth. Opposite his grave is a granite plaza designed by architect I. M. Pei and dedicated on December 6, 1971. A low granite wall similar to the one at the John F. Kennedy terrace contains quotations from famous Robert F. Kennedy speeches, and a small reflecting pool. As with his brother, Robert Kennedy's first grave was a temporary one, about 10 feet (3.0 m) upslope from its current location.

The Kennedy grave site's approaches were altered at the time the Robert F. Kennedy memorial was built. Previously, the approach consisted of a series of long steps. But several individuals in wheelchairs appealed to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and the steps were replaced by long ramps in June 1971.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was buried at the site alongside her husband following her death from cancer in May 1994. Senator Edward M. Kennedy was buried about 100 feet (30 m) south of Robert Kennedy's memorial between two maple trees shortly after his death on August 25, 2009, from brain cancer.

Maintenance of the eternal flame is an ongoing issue. Arlington National Cemetery experts said in 2001 that it cost about $200 a month to keep the flame burning. As of 2010, Fenwal Controls, a gas equipment manufacturer based in Boston, was the contractor responsible for maintaining the flame. The custom-manufactured ignition system is contained within a weather-proof box buried a few feet from the grave site. This system controls the flow of gas, monitors the flame, and keeps the flame lit via a high-voltage cable and 20,000-volt spark ignition electrode near the gas burner. No longer constantly sparking to keep the flame lit, the system monitors the flame and activates the ignition system only when the flame goes out. The electrode is specially designed for outdoor use. The system is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, which has contracted with Fenwal Controls to ensure it is maintained and upgrades are made as needed. According to Arlington National Cemetery historian Tom Sherlock, when the gas burner requires maintenance the flame is shut off. But maintenance needs are so minimal that no living Fenwal Controls employee has seen the interior of the ignition system. An on-site visit was planned by Fenwal Controls workers for early 2010 to inspect the eternal flame and conduct a review of the ignition and burner systems.

In November 2010, the carved Kennedy quotations in the low stone wall of the plaza in front of the grave site underwent a major restoration. Power cleaning of the site and weather had made the letters difficult to read. The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal service organization to which Kennedy belonged, donated $6,000 to have the letters darkened and more deeply incised in time for the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration. Gordon Ponsford, a sculptor who restored several major monuments at Arlington National Cemetery, performed the work.

The eternal flame has been extinguished a few times by accident. On December 10, 1963, a group of Catholic schoolchildren were sprinkling the temporary flame with holy water. The cap came off the bottle and water poured onto the flame, putting it out. A cemetery official quickly relit the flame by hand. In August 1967, an exceptionally heavy rain extinguished the permanent flame. A nearby electrical transformer flooded as well, depriving the spark igniter of power and preventing the flame from being relit. After the rain ended, a cemetery official relit the flame by hand. Two of the gravesite's flagstones had to be removed to access the transformer and repair it.

The 220-year-old "Arlington Oak", which stood off-center within the Kennedy memorial gravesite area was uprooted and killed on August 27, 2011, during Hurricane Irene. The gravesite was closed to the public for two days to remove the tree and stump, but reopened on August 30. On Arbor Day, April 27, 2012, a sapling grown from an acorn of the Arlington Oak was planted at the same site. Two other Arlington Oak saplings were planted nearby, while a fourth was planted in Section 26 near the Old Amphitheater and a fifth in Section 36 near Custis Walk.