Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy

A small archive of material relating to the design of the permanent gravesite of Presdient John F. Kennedy, including 3 autograph letters by Mrs. Kennedy signed ("Jackie"; "J"), 6 pages on 4 sheets of various stationery, [New York, 1966–1967], all to Robert McNamara, one accompanied by its original autograph envelope signed ("Jacqueline Kennedy"); 2 typed letters by Rachel Lambert Mellon signed ("Bunny"), [Upperville, Virginia,] 1967, to McNamara; typed and photocopied notes and descriptions (some duplicates) of various stages of the planning of the gravesite.

After President Kennedy was assassinated, it was initally thought that he would be buried in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts. Evidently following an initial suggestion from Robert McNamara, Mrs. Kennedy changed the site to Arlington National Cemetery. John Carl Warnecke was engaged by Mrs. Kennedy to design a permanent gravesite for her husband that would be simple and yet evocative of the American spirit.

Among other advisors for the project, Mrs. Kennedy selected Robert McNamara. Her first letter to him here (docketed by McNamara "9/14/66") covered her notes on what she hoped the Arlington gravesite would achieve; she thanks McNamara for his counsel and confides "I feel now—peaceful & optimistic for the first time in so many months. …"

Two months later, in November 1966, Mrs. Kennedy sent a longer letter, largely quoting a letter she had received from Mrs. Mellon, who she designates as "my Cyrano." "'It is a strange reaction to a 3 hour meeting with 8 men in the Pentagon—to leave with a feeling of peace & inspiration to plant trees & violets—and that you can see the possibility of sun coming through & a clear blue sky. It is the first feeling of this kind I have known in connection with Arlington. Every meeting or trip there has been ponderous. … Now—because of Bob McNamara & his Army lawyer, it is all changed—and the men from the Army Corps have told me that their morale is up and nothing is too hard. When I went back alone, to plan & think, there was no sadness and the flag at the top of the hill was flying as it did when President Kennedy was President.'" Following some further summary of Mrs. Mellon's letter, Mrs. Kennedy concludes with her own words, "I do not mean to be facetious, dear Bob—you must know that I shall never be able to thank you—there never was anyone like you."

A letter from March 1967 informs the Defense Secretary of the reason for a change from the original plans: "we found the Cape Cod stone, and wanted his grave to be in a setting like the Rose garden which he loved so much." In an unannounced service, the permanent gravesite of President Kennedy was consecrated on 15 March 1967, although landscaping around the site continued for several weeks afterwards.