"After the funeral, we all returned to the White House & swarmed around until late on our last night. ... We celebrated -- as best we could -- our cousin John Kennedy Jr.'s birthday with presents, fried chicken, cake, and ice cream. Den Dave [Powers] led us in a sing-along of Irish classics. ... The RFK clan were the last to leave. My mother drove us home in the station wagon at close to eleven, while my dad stayed and returned with Jackie to Arlington at midnight, where they found Major Ruddy's beret on the pine boughs upon Jack's grave. They placed a bouquet by the flame & said a final prayer. That night my dad wrote us each a letter urging us to 'remember all the things that Jack started -- be kind to others that are less fortunate than we -- and love our country."
--Robert F. Kennedy Jr., "American Values: Lessons I Learned From My Family"

The riderless horse is one of the highest military honors bestowed upon the fallen. - The horse, named Black Jack, was from the Army’s oldest active infantry unit, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard.

Recognizing the need for the United States to conduct unconventional warfare, President Kennedy had championed the role of the U.S. Army Special Forces. He embraced the Green Beret, worn by the Special Forces troops, calling it “a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, [and] a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. - “He gave us the beret,” Ruddy said later, “and we thought it fitting to give one back to him.“

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