SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Photocopies of files on the transport of President Kennedy's body from Dallas to Bethesda Naval Hospital, his funeral and interment, and administration of the gravesite. One folder on the gravesite of Robert F. Kennedy. The originals are at the National Archives.

QUANTITY
1.4 linear feet (ca. 2,800 pages)

DONOR
United States Department of the Army (86-NLF-029)

ACCESS
Open.

COPYRIGHT
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them.

Prepared by Geir Gundersen, April 1994
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INTRODUCTION

In 1983 the Gerald R. Ford Library accessioned the records of the Department of the Army, Military District of Washington, Directorate of Ceremonies and Special Events (part of Record Group 338). The collection contained case files on inaugurations, head of state visits, presidential funerals, including the funeral of President John F. Kennedy, and other ceremonies and special events in which the Army was involved from 1959-1977. In 1994 the Library deaccessioned and transferred the records to the National Archives in Washington, DC. But before sending the collection to Washington, the Library photocopied the Kennedy funeral files as a supplement to the Library's materials on the Kennedy assassination.

The files primarily document the Army's involvement in the funeral and related proceedings for President Kennedy during the period of November 22-25, 1963. The materials concern the handling, transporting, and guarding of President Kennedy's body. Included is information on personnel support, logistics, supplies, ceremonies, services, and processions. There are also materials on the administration of President Kennedy's gravesite. Included is information on ceremonies, guards, visitors, and the permanent gravesite. In addition, there is one folder concerning the grave of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Related Materials (April 1994)
There are related materials on the Kennedy assassination in numerous other Library collections. Two major sources are the Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers Warren Commission File and the files of the President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States (also known as the Rockefeller Commission). In addition, scattered materials on the topic are located in the following collections: the Vernon Loen and Charles Leppert Files; the White House Central Files Subject File subject categories FE 14-1: Records - Archives: Access to Records, FG 2-34: Kennedy, John F., and JL 3-1/K: Assassinations or Attempted Assassinations; the White House Central Files Name File; the Philip Buchen Files; the Gordon Vander Till Papers; the Kenneth Lazarus Files; the Charles McCall Files; the White House Press Release Unit: Key Phrase and Word Index to Presidential Statements; the Gerald R. Ford Vice Presidential Papers; Gerald R. Ford: Photocopies from other Presidential Libraries; the Gerald R. Ford Scrapbooks; the Edward Hutchinson Papers; the Ron Nessen Files; and America Since Hoover: Selected Documents from Presidential Libraries.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

President John F. Kennedy Funeral File, 1963-77.  (Boxes 1‑4, 1.4 linear feet)
After action reports, memoranda, correspondence, duty officers' logs, the announcement of death, a presidential proclamation, news releases, photographs, visitors logs, drawings, maps, and clippings concerning the death, funeral, interment, and reinterment of President John F. Kennedy. Included is information on the movement of President Kennedy's body from Dallas to Bethesda Naval Hospital, the funeral ceremonies and processions, the support provided by various units of the United States Army, and the logistics involved. There is only limited information on the use of helicopters and an ambulance to transport the President's remains, and no information regarding the personnel present at Bethesda Naval Hospital on the evening of November 22, 1963. In addition, there is material on the administration of President Kennedy's gravesite. Included is information on visitors from 1964-65, plans and drawings for a permanent gravesite, the reinterment at the permanent site, the use of civilian and military guards, and standard operating procedures at the gravesite. There is also one folder on a proposed memorial mass at the grave of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - President John F. Kennedy Funeral File

• John F. Kennedy Funeral
  - After Action Reports (1)‑(2)
  - Announcement of Death (1)‑(2)
  - Assassination
  - Ceremony (1)‑(5)

Box 2 - President John F. Kennedy Funeral File

• John F. Kennedy Funeral
  - Ceremony ‑ Correspondence (1)‑(2)
  - General Correspondence (1)‑(2)
  - Miscellaneous (1)‑(2)
  - Music
  - News Releases
  - Periodicals
  - Photographs ‑ Book 1
  - Photographs ‑ Book 2
  - Presidential Proclamation
  - Recommendations of Presidential Funeral Joint Service Awards Board
• John F. Kennedy Gravesite
  ‑ Ceremonies
  ‑ Civilian Guards
  ‑ Decorative Gas Flares and Unmetered Gas Light Service

Box 3 - President John F. Kennedy Funeral File

• John F. Kennedy Gravesite
  ‑ Dedication Ceremony
  ‑ Drawings
  ‑ General Correspondence
  ‑ Memoranda for the Record
  ‑ Miscellaneous
  ‑ Procedures (MDW Regulation 290‑2)
  ‑ Reinterment (1)‑(2)
  ‑ Standard Operating Procedures
  ‑ Visitors ‑ 1964 (1)‑(4)

Box 4 - President John F. Kennedy Funeral File

• John F. Kennedy Gravesite
  ‑ Visitors ‑ 1965 (1)‑(4)
• Robert F. Kennedy Gravesite
  ‑ Memorial Mass