Without ceremony, in the crisp of an early fall morn, the gravesite that holds the remains of John F. Kennedy and his wife was reopened to public viewing Friday, refurbished to include a marker for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.
The 3.2-acre gravesite, on a steep hill at Arlington National Cemetery, is one of the most visited areas of the nation's capital. It had been closed for two days while the new marker was put in place.Mrs. Onassis died in New York in May and was buried next to her first husband on May 23. To preserve symmetry, Kennedy's marker was moved about 30 inches to the left. Behind the markers, between the two graves, is the eternal flame that was lighted by Mrs. Kennedy on the day of Kennedy's funeral.
Her marker is of identical size and style of lettering as Kennedy's. It has her name and the years 1929-1994.
The graves of the two Kennedys and those of two of their children are beneath irregular stones of Cape Cod granite that were quarried about 150 years ago near the site of Kennedy's home. Sedum was planted in the crevices to give the appearance of stones lying naturally in a Massachusetts field.
This morning, three small bunches of dahlias, gladiolus, carnations and one single red rose were on Mrs. Onassis' marker. They bore no card, but cemetery employees said they were taken from flowers that arrive from the public in an unending stream.