The state funeral of John F. Kennedy was held on November 25, 1963, three days after his assassination on November 22.
The assassination, and the events surrounding it, left a lasting impression on many people; and the state funeral is deeply burned in the memory of many Americans and others around the world. The day of the funeral was declared a national day of mourning in the U.S.
Preparations for the funeral
Kennedy's body was flown back to Washington, D.C. and then to Bethesda Naval Hospital for an autopsy. At the same time, military authorities started planning the state funeral. According to the United States Army, officials at the Military District of Washington (MDW) planned the funeral, working with the president's brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, and an aide to the president. Because Kennedy had no funeral plan in place, much of the planning rested with the MDW commanding general.
While waiting at Bethesda, Jacqueline Kennedy, her pink suit still stained with her husband's blood, ordered researchers to the Library of Congress to research details about the funeral of Abraham Lincoln.
White House Repose
After the autopsy, Kennedy's body was prepared for burial, then returned to the White House and placed in the East Room for 24 hours, as he lay in repose (then, the term "lying in repose" meant private, as opposed to a public lying in state). Throughout the day, family, friends, and other government officials came to mourn. Outside, people stood in the rain, many finding it hard to believe what had happened. But implacably, reality prevailed: youngest elected president, youngest to die.
Lying in state
On the Sunday after the assassination (November 24 1963), about 300,000 watched the horse-drawn caisson, which had borne the body of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Unknown Soldier, carry Kennedy's flag-covered mahogany casket down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol rotunda to lie in state. The only sounds on Pennsylvania Avenue as the cortège made its way to the Capitol were the sounds of the muffled drums and the clacking of the horses' hoofs. The widow, holding her two children, one in each hand, led the public mourning for the country. In the rotunda, Mrs. Kennedy and daughter Caroline knelt beside the casket, which rested on the same catafalque that had supported Lincoln's. John Jr. was taken out so as not to disrupt the service. Mrs. Kennedy maintained her composure as her husband was taken to the Capitol to lie in state.
Throughout the day and night, an estimated 250,000 people, some waiting in near-freezing temperatures for as long as 10 hours in a line that stretched 40 blocks up to 10 persons wide, personally paid their respects as Kennedy's body lay in state.
Arrival of Dignitaries
At the same time, foreign dignitaries — including heads of state and government and members of royal families — started to converge on Washington to attend the funeral on Monday. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and other State Department personnel went out to both of Washington's airports to greet the foreign dignitaries.
Some of the dignitaries that arrived on Sunday to attend the funeral included French President Charles de Gaulle, West German President Heinrich Luebke, British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, and Irish President Eamon de Valera. Many of the heads of state and government led delegations. Some of the dignitaries that arrived commented on the assassination. The MPDC said that it was the biggest security nightmare they ever faced.
Funeral
After the service at the Capitol, military authorities held meetings at the White House, at Arlington National Cemetery, and at Military District of Washington (MDW) headquarters on Monday's events. Unlike Sunday's procession, which was led only by the muffled drum corps, Monday's procession was to be expanded to include the military units. During the meetings, military authorities also agreed on what the president's widow requested. Among them were a couple of foreign military units — Black Watch bagpipers from the Royal Highlanders Regiment to take part in the procession, and an honor guard of 24 Irish cadets to perform at the grave site. Afterwards, the MDW published and distributed the final plans for Monday's events, which called for the events to begin at 10:30 EST (15:30 UTC).
A million people lined the route of the funeral procession, from the Capitol to the White House to St. Matthew's Cathedral, and then to Arlington National Cemetery. Millions more across America followed the funeral on television.
Procession to Cathedral
The procession began just before 11:00 EST (16:00 UTC), almost half an hour behind schedule, when the coffin was carried out of the rotunda and placed on the caisson, which then made its way to the White House and on to St. Matthew's Cathedral for the funeral. When the procession reached the White House, the military units moved past it, but halted when the cortege stopped at the White House. The procession then resumed on foot from the White House to St. Matthew's Cathedral, led by his widow, holding her two children, and by Kennedy's two brothers, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The rest of the Kennedy family, apart from the president's father, who was ill, waited at the cathedral.
Not since the funeral of Britain's King Edward VII in 1910, had there been a mass gathering of presidents, prime ministers, and royalty at a funeral — 220 foreign dignitaries, including 19 heads of state and government, and members of royal families, from 92 countries, including the Soviet Union, attended the funeral. Leading the dignitaries were Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and French President Charles de Gaulle. Soviet Union was represented by First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan. During the procession from the White House to the cathedral, the Black Watch bagpipers took part, marching behind the other military units. NBC trasmitted coverage of the procession by satellite to twenty-three countries, including the Soviet Union.
As the dignitaries marched, there was a heavy security presence because of fears of what might happen in Dallas might happen again. Under Secretary of State George Ball manned the operations center at the State Department, rather than attending the funeral so that no act of madness happens. However, the only security was the MPDC with automatic pistols. The Kennedy funeral saw the largest security operation than any other state funeral until Ronald Reagan's in 2004 (Reagan's was more massive because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated it a National Special Security Event, since it was happening after September 11, 2001).
Funeral
The widow, wearing a black veil, still holding her two children, John Jr., who celebrated his third birthday on the day of his father's funeral, on her left, and Caroline, on her right, led the way up the steps. The archbishop of Boston, Richard Cardinal Cushing, said the requiem mass; he was a close friend of the Kennedys and had married John and Jacqueline Kennedy, had baptized their two children, had given the invocation at Kennedy's inauguration, and also had officiated the recent funeral of their infant son, Patrick. There was no eulogy, but the auxiliary archbishop of Washington, the Most Reverend Philip Hannan, read passages from Kennedy's speeches, including his entire inaugural address.
Burial
After the service, the casket was taken by caisson to Arlington National Cemetery for burial. As the casket was taken out of the cathedral, Jackie Kennedy whispered to her son, asking him to salute. Everyone who attended the funeral also attended the burial service. At the end of the burial service, Kennedy's widow lit an eternal flame to burn over his grave. The service ended at 15:15 EST (20:15 UTC), and about 20 minutes later, at 15:34 EST (20:34 UTC), Kennedy was interred.