How the JFK Eternal Flame Withstands Inclement Weather

Posted: May 31, 2022 12:14 pm

Eternal Flame Designed to Stand Up to Wind and Rain

The eternal flame marking the final resting place of former President John F. Kennedy has been a symbol of the nation’s unwavering spirit. The Memorial Day holiday is the perfect time to look at the history of the flame and how it has been designed to withstand a variety of inclement weather conditions.

History of the Eternal Flame

Although it now stands as a hallmark of Arlington National Cemetery, the flame was actually a last-minute addition to Kennedy’s grave. Jacqueline Kennedy first lit the torch at the head of her late husband’s grave at his funeral in November of 1963. Kennedy had requested the addition of the flame the day before the service, prompting officials to put together the supplies needed for the flame’s burner.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the officials used what was once described as a makeshift tiki torch. Prior to Kennedy officially lighting the flame at the service, the engineers tested its resilience by throwing water on it and blasting it with air to ensure that it would be able to withstand the most common weather conditions of the Washington, D.C. area.

The flame is fed using a gas line that runs 200 feet from a propane tank located under the grave. Despite the best intentions of the engineers, the flame has been blown out at last twice over the last 50 years. The first time that it was extinguished happened just 15 days after the funeral service. A group of students had been sprinkling the grave with holy water when a stream of the liquid hit the flame, blowing out the flame completely. It only took a few minutes before an employee keeping guard over the flame was able to light it again.

Upgrade to the Flame

A few years later in 1967, the remains of the president and two of his deceased children were relocated to what is now their permanent gravesite approximately 40 away from what was still an unfinished memorial to the Kennedy family. As part of the relocation, engineers worked to construct a more stable flame.

The area surrounding the flame was paved with stones of Cape Cod granite, representing the president’s home state. Fescue grass and clover were planted near the grave to make it look like a typical field in Massachusetts.

The newly installed burner used an apparatus made by the Institute of Gas Technology of Chicago that used a special electric ignition system. This system reignites the gas any time that it is put out by rain or wind. However, the system failed later that year when an August storm extinguished the flame and the automatic igniter failed to work because of a flooded transformer. Engineers worked to quickly reignite the torch and fix the system.

Flame Can Be Shared

The flame has also been designed to share with others. For example, Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy took a flame from the torch and shared it with other ceremonies representing the civil rights organization known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the Lincoln Memorial.

The fire from the torch was shared again in 2013 when a special lamp carried the flame to New Ross in County Wexford, Ireland as a way to commemorate Kennedy’s visit to his ancestral home shortly before his assassination in 1963. The fire from the torch was used to light the Emigrant Flame memorial. This memorial is located in the same Irish county that Kennedy’s great-grandfather left when he immigrated to the U.S. in 1848.

The flame is also designed to be transferred to a temporary torch if the primary torch needs to be repaired or maintained. This is put in place so that the eternal flame can indeed remain eternal without being extinguished.

For example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District replaced the entire burner assembly and infrastructure in 2023. According to records at Arlington National Cemetery, the gas, electric, and compressed airlines were all replaced. In addition, the engineers also moved the gas pressure regulators to a spot located outside of the chamber for easier access. During this maintenance work, a temporary flame was lit at the gravesite, keeping the tradition of eternal spirit going.

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