Obamas, Clintons to visit Kennedy’s gravesite

President Obama will mark the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination next week by laying a wreath on Kennedy’s grave and commemorating his creation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Obama will be accompanied to Wednesday’s ceremony by his wife, Michelle, and by President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to The Associated Press. Friday will mark half a century since Kennedy was shot to death in Dallas.

After the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama is scheduled to present the Medal of Freedom — the highest U.S. award given to civilians — to its 2013 recipients, which include Bill Clinton. President Harry Truman created the award in 1945, but Kennedy altered it so that it could only be delivered by the president and could reward a greater range of contributions. He died before the first group of recipients could receive it.

On Wednesday evening, Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech honoring Kennedy’s legacy of service, according to the AP. The dinner event at the National Museum of American History is expected to be attended by recipients of the medal, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin.