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JFK’s Funeral: Photos From a Day of Shock and Grief

3 minute read

More than 50 years after the grisly fact, the assassination of John F. Kennedy remains one of the few unmistakably signal events from the second half of the 20th century. Other moments — some thrilling (the moon landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall), others horrifying (the killings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the Challenger explosion) — have secured their places in the history books and, even more indelibly, in the memories of those who witnessed them. But nothing in the latter part of “the American century” defined an era as profoundly as the rifle shots that split the warm Dallas air on Nov. 22, 1963, and the sudden death of the 46-year-old president.

There was Camelot — a media construct, of course, but a rarity in that it actually resonated with so many people, everywhere — and then there was the somber, profoundly uncertain period after Camelot. For countless millions in America and around the globe who lived through the near-surreal transition, the days and weeks after JFK’s assassination felt like a chilling, restless pause: a moment so charged with unease that even reflection, or taking stock, seemed impossible.

Here, LIFE.com features photographs (some never published in LIFE magazine) from the funeral held three days after John F. Kennedy was killed: Nov. 25, 1963, which was also his son John Jr.’s third birthday.

[Buy the LIFE book, The Day Kennedy Died]

“A woman knelt and gently kissed the flag,” LIFE magazine reported of the scene as JFK’s casket lay in state for two days after his assassination. “A little girl’s hand tenderly fumbled under the flag to reach closer. Thus, in a privacy open to all the world, John F. Kennedy’s wife and daughter touched at a barrier that no mortal ever can pass again.”

The next day, Kennedy’s body was taken “from the proudly impassive care of his honor guard” and was carried from the Capitol rotunda to Arlington National Cemetery.

“By a tradition that is as old as Genghis Khan,” LIFE noted, “a riderless horse followed” the flag-draped casket, “carrying empty boots reversed in the stirrups in token that the warrior would not mount again. . . . Through all this mournful splendor Jacqueline Kennedy marched enfolded in courage and a regal dignity. Then at midnight she came back again, in loneliness, to lay some flowers on her husband’s grave.”

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.

John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket, Washington, D.C., November 1963
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket, Washington, D.C., November 1963Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Wife. Mother. Niece. Three generations wait outside St. Matthew's for procession to cemetery. Behind Mrs. Kennedy stands the President's mother. Sydney Lawford, daughter of Kennedy's sister Pat, is at rear.
Caption from LIFE. Wife. Mother. Niece. Three generations wait outside St. Matthew's for procession to cemetery. Behind Mrs. Kennedy stands the President's mother. Sydney Lawford, daughter of Kennedy's sister Pat, is at rear.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's cortege leaves the White House, November 1963.
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's cortege leaves the White House, November 1963.John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Young Kennedys prepare to leave the White House for John F. Kennedy's funeral, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Young Kennedys prepare to leave the White House for John F. Kennedy's funeral, November 25, 1963.John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
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Not published in LIFE. Horse-drawn caisson bearing the body of Pres. John F. Kennedy across the Memorial Bridge into Arlington Cemetery.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
JFK's funeral, 1963
Caption from LIFE. With the sound of creaking wheels and clattering hoofs breaking the silence, the President's caisson entered Arlington Cemetery, passed the graves of American war heroes and headed toward the burial spot on a grassy hill which looks over the Potomac.John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Robert Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and Edward Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Robert Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and Edward Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jackie Kennedy at JFK's funeral, November 1963
Caption from LIFE. Pausing for a moment after the graveside service with Robert Kennedy, who was ever at her side, Jacqueline Kennedy had a word of thanks for Bishop Philip Hannan (left), who spoke at the funeral, and other Catholic prelates who had taken part in the services.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
As taps sounded, [French] President de Gaulle and [Ethiopian] Emperor Haile Selassie saluted the grave
Caption from LIFE. As taps sounded, [French] President de Gaulle and [Ethiopian] Emperor Haile Selassie saluted the grave.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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