Robert F. Kennedy is buried next to his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery.
WHERE IS THE GRAVESITE?
The tomb and memorial to Robert F "Bobby" Kennedy are located in lot 45, Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC).
If you are facing the memorial wall with Washington, DC viewable in the distance at JFK's gravesite, you will need to exit to your right
It is a 10-minute walk from the Visitor Center (map) and a 15-minute walk from the Arlington Cemetery Metro Station.
You will not be able to drive to the gravesite. Walking is how the majority of visitors reach it.
However, the Kennedy Memorials is one of 3 stops on the trams that operate in the cemetery. Tickets for the trams can be purchased inside of the Visitor Center.
Please note that you will be walking up a slight incline to reach the site. The site is wheelchair accessible.
At the gravesite, absolute silence is expected. Men are also expected to take off hats.
Robert "Bobby" Kennedy Memorial
On June 6, 1968, less than 5 years after his brother's assassination and just a few months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy was killed after giving a speech in Los Angeles.
At the time, he was the leading Democratic nominee for the presidency and was serving as Senator from New York.
Again, there was question as to where he should be buried, but ultimately it was decided to lay Senator Kennedy to rest next to his brother.
A funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, then his remains were transported on a train to Washington, D.C.
Thousands lined the train tracks to pay their respects, delaying the train's arrival into Union Station until 9:10 p.m.
A quiet and beautiful ceremony featuring 1,500 candles, Senator Kennedy's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery is the only one to take place at night.
Three years after the initial burial, a more elaborate memorial was constructed in honor of Senator Kennedy.
The memorial features a semi-circular plaza, similar to the one featured in the president's memorial.
On the hill side, stands a simple, white wooden Christian cross. At the time of RFK's funeral, this was the only white, wooden cross in ANC.
Opposite the cross, is a long, low-lying wall with shallow, calm waters with two inscriptions.
The first inscription is an excerpt taken from a speech given to students in South Africa in 1966 championing the anti-apartheid cause:
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice. He sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance."
Possibly by design, small bubble peculate every few minutes from the back right causing small ripples waves to pass by the readers eyes.
The second quote comes from an except taken from a speech RFK delivered in Indianapolis on the night of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination.
"Aeschylus...wrote, "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.' What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness; but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black."
That evening and for several days following it, there was unrest in many cities across the USA. Indianapolis was not one of them.
