JFK'S COFFIN RESTS ON CATAFALQUE USED FOR LINCOLN

PRIVATE MASS IN THE EAST ROOM 

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 23, 1963, the body of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, arrived at the White House. 

The flag-draped coffin, borne by an honor guard representing the major branches of the military, was placed in the East Room where President Abraham Lincoln's coffin rested almost a century before.

Following the First Lady's request, the East Room was decorated in black crepe and her husband's coffin was put on the same catafalque used for President Lincoln in 1865.

At 10 o'clock Washington time, a private mass was held for the President's family and close friends at the White House.  Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer* describes the scene...

"The family, half a dozen friends...presidential aides and...members of the White House staff gathered for a private mass.  The altar and...rows of chairs were moved.  Near the coffin, they knelt on the hard oak floor.  As friends left, Mrs. Kennedy stood in the hall and thanked each one for coming."

*Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer was a columnist for the Washington Post.  She served as war correspondent in the Balkans.  MVRT was born in Southampton, Long Island & grew up in NYC.

SOURCES

"Jacqueline Kennedy, The White House Years", by Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer, Little Brown and Company, Boston 1967.

www.fiftiesweb.com

JFK's Flag-Draped Casket

The White House

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

November 23, 1963

WHITE HOUSE TOUR, PART I

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2257

TOURING THE WHITE HOUSE ON A COLD EARLY SPRING MORNING

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) JFK+50 took our anxiously-awaited self-guided tour* of the White House this morning, March 23, 2017.  We arrived at the Visitors Entrance in front of the north side of the Treasury Building just after 7 a.m. and waited in line until about 7:40.

We picked a really cold morning, at least for early spring in the Nation's Capital.  The temperature was in the upper 20s.  When the line starting moving we passed through three checkpoints.  The first took our "Boarding Pass" and photo identification.  The second included a body scan and the third required removing cameras, keys, cell phones, etc. from our persons & putting them on a conveyor belt for scanning.

We then walked into the East Wing hallway toward the steps leading up to the main floor.  There was a slight delay waiting at the bottom of the steps.  A security agent told us that to our left behind tall barriers was the hall leading to the West Wing.  It was from behind those barriers President Donald Trump emerged to greet visitors of the first tour held after his inauguration.

We then walked up the steps to the EAST ROOM.  Originally designated as the Public Audience Chamber, the East Room came to be known as the Banquet Room.  The largest room in the executive mansion, the East Room has been used for award ceremonies, concerts, dances, funerals, press conferences and weddings.

There are some very historical objects in this room.  First is the Landsdowne portrait of George Washington, the work of Gilbert Stuart in 1794, that was saved from capture by Dolley Madison.  There is also a portrait of Martha Washington by Eliphalet Andrews hanging nearby.  There are two of President Monroe's candelabras on the mantle in the room.

We discovered the Steinway grand piano is no longer located in the East Room. Although it is occasionally brought in for special concerts, today it is near the front window in the Entrance Foyer.

*Tours are arranged through your congressman's office well in advance.  You receive email confirmation of your acceptance for the tour only a couple of weeks before the actual date.  While the estimated time of the tour is 45 minutes, it took us two hours from the time we arrived until the time we left.

SOURCES

"The White House, An Historic Guide," White House Historical Association, Washington, D.C., 1962.

White House Tours Boarding Pass, whitehouse.gov/

John and Jennifer White

White House East Room

March 23, 2017

Photo by David Mangone

A WISE & VALIANT MAN IS TAKEN FROM US

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2138

WORLD MOURNS DEATH OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Millions of people around the world, including Pope Paul VI, mourned the death of President John F. Kennedy fifty-three years ago today, November 23, 1963.

Here in the Nation's capital, hundreds of people gathered outside the gates of the White House while in Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev paid a personal visit to honor President Kennedy at the American embassy.

In a telegram to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Khrushchev said...

"John F. Kennedy's death is a serious blow to all people who cherish the cause of peace and Soviet-American cooperation."

In London, Sir Winston Churchill issued a statement that said JFK's assassination had... "taken from us a great statesman and a wise and valiant man."

PRESIDENT'S REMAINS LIE IN STATE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-three years ago this morning, November 23, 1963, the body of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, arrived at the White House. 

The flag-draped coffin, borne by an honor guard representing the major branches of the military, was placed in the East Room where President Abraham Lincoln's coffin rested almost a century before.

Following the First Lady's request, the East Room was decorated in black crepe and her husband's coffin was put on the same catafalque used for President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

At 10 o'clock Washington time, a private mass was held for the President's family and close friends at the White House.

JFK's remains were to lie in state at the White House all through the day and night and transferred by caisson to the United States Capitol on Sunday morning, November 24 to lie in state in the Rotunda.

The day of burial was set for Monday, November 25 which President Lyndon B. Johnson declared to be a day of national mourning.

Source: www.fiftiesweb.com

JFK's Flag-Draped Casket

The White House

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

November 23, 1963

JFK RETURNS TO WHITE HOUSE FOR THE LAST TIME

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1775

PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S REMAINS ARRIVE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-two years ago this morning, November 23, 1963, the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, returned to the White House for the last time. 

The flag-draped coffin, borne by an honor guard representing the major branches of the military, was placed in the East Room where President Abraham Lincoln's coffin rested almost a century before.

Following First Lady's Jacqueline Kennedy's request, the East Room was decorated in black crepe and her husband's coffin was put on the same catafalque used for President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

At 10 o'clock Washington time, a private mass was held for the President's family and close friends at the White House.  JFK's remains were scheduled to lie in state at the White House all through the day and night and transferred by caisson to the United States Capitol on Sunday morning, November 24 to lie in state in the Rotunda.

The day of burial was set for Monday, November 25 which President Lyndon B. Johnson declared to be a day of national mourning.

Source: www.fiftiesweb.com

JFK's Flag-Draped Casket

The White House

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

November 23, 1963

WORLD MOURNS DEATH OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Millions of people around the world, including Pope Paul VI, mourned the death of President John F. Kennedy fifty-two years ago today, November 23, 1963.

Here in the Nation's capital, hundreds of people gathered outside the gates of the White House while in Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev paid a personal visit to honor President Kennedy at the American embassy.

In a telegram to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Khrushchev said...

"John F. Kennedy's death is a serious blow to all people who cherish the cause of peace and Soviet-American cooperation."

In London, Sir Winston Churchill issued a statement that said JFK's assassination had... "taken from us a great statesman and a wise and valiant man."

JFK'S REMAINS RETURNED TO THE WHITE HOUSE

PRESIDENT'S REMAINS LIE IN STATE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-one years ago this morning, November 23, 1963, the body of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, arrived at the White House. 

The flag-draped coffin, borne by an honor guard representing the major branches of the military, was placed in the East Room where President Abraham Lincoln's coffin rested almost a century before.

Following the First Lady's request, the East Room was decorated in black crepe and her husband's coffin was put on the same catafalque used for President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

At 10 o'clock Washington time, a private mass was held for the President's family and close friends at the White House.

JFK's remains were scheduled to lie in state at the White House all through the day and night and transferred by caisson to the United States Capitol on Sunday morning, November 24 to lie in state in the Rotunda.

The day of burial was set for Monday, November 25 which President Lyndon B. Johnson declared to be a day of national mourning.

Source: www.fiftiesweb.com

JFK's Flag-Draped Casket

The White House

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

November 23, 1963

WORLD MOURNS DEATH OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Millions of people around the world, including Pope Paul VI, mourned the death of President John F. Kennedy fifty-one years ago today, November 23, 1963.

Here in the Nation's capital, hundreds of people gathered outside the gates of the White House while in Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev paid a personal visit to honor President Kennedy at the American embassy.

In a telegram to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Khrushchev said...

"John F. Kennedy's death is a serious blow to all people who cherish the cause of peace and Soviet-American cooperation."

In London, Sir Winston Churchill issued a statement that said JFK's assassination had... "taken from us a great statesman and a wise and valiant man."