John Fitzgerald Kennedy – The Eternal Flame

John F Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States was assassinated on this day - 22 November - in 1963. He was shot dead in Dallas, Texas, while riding in an open car, in a killing that sent shock waves across the entire world. Less than a year later on 29 May, 1964 the US Postal Service issued this stamp which featured both a portrait of the slain leader and also the John F Kennedy Eternal Flame, the presidential memorial found at the grave-site in Arlington National Cemetery. JFK's widow Jacqueline Kennedy lit the flame on 25 November, 1963, and it has never been extinguished since (barring one accidental dampening of the flame by school children).

The stamp quotes from Kennedy's inaugural address using words that fit the stamp perfectly:

And the glow from that fire can truly light the world

John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1964 US Commemorative Stamp

The 5 cent stamp was designed by Raymond Loewy and engraved by M. D. Fenton. It was printed by Rotary Press in a very large run of 500,000,000 stamps.
John F Kennedy Ivory Coast 1964 MNH Souvenir Sheet $15 John F Kennedy Ivory Coast 1964 MNH Souvenir Sheet $15
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JFK PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY FDC 1964 BOSTON MA 1 JFK PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY FDC 1964 BOSTON MA 1
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JFK PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY FDC 1964 BOSTON MA 2 JFK PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY FDC 1964 BOSTON MA 2
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Germany John F Kennedy memorial cover of 1964 Germany John F Kennedy memorial cover of 1964
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Dubai 1964 John F Kennedy S S Cacheted FDC Dubai 1964 John F Kennedy S S Cacheted FDC
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Germany John F Kennedy memorial cover of 1964 Germany John F Kennedy memorial cover of 1964
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JOHN F KENNEDY IN MEMORIAM ART CRAFT 1964 MINT JOHN F KENNEDY IN MEMORIAM ART CRAFT 1964 MINT
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JOHN F KENNEDY IN MEMORIAM ARTMASTER 1964 MINT JOHN F KENNEDY IN MEMORIAM ARTMASTER 1964 MINT
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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm and is filed under Commemorative stamps, Famous people, United States stamps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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