The Nation Remembers JFK, 50 Years Later

22 Nov, 2013

Dallas will observe the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination with its first official memorial on Friday, as the rest of the nation pauses to remember the event that changed history.

At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia where Kennedy is buried, family members laid a wreath at his grave, where Jackie Kennedy and two of their children also are buried.

At dawn, Attorney General Eric Holder made a gravesite visit to honor Kennedy, bowing his head and placing a Justice Department commemorative coin at the stone. Holder then walked a short path to the grave of Robert F. Kennedy, who had served as attorney general under his brother, bowed his head and left another coin.

In a late morning ceremony in Dallas, Kennedy will be remembered with prayers, a speech by Mayor Mike Rawlings and military jets flying over the city’s Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was shot.

The ceremony starts at 11:30 a.m. (1730 GMT), to coincide with the time that Kennedy’s motorcade had passed through packed downtown streets, 50 years ago. Only 5,000 people will be able to view ceremonies in Dealey Plaza but video screens will be set up throughout downtown.

Reuters

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