Knights of Columbus to spiff up JFK grave

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The Knights of Columbus, a charitable Catholic lay organization, says it will restore and repair the Washington grave site of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Restoration work at Arlington National Cemetery started Thursday, and it should be completed in about a week, The Washington Post reported.

The group plans to spend about $6,000 to improve the grave site. It will repair a wall bearing the inscription "Ask not what your nation can do for you, as what you can do for your country," which is fading.

"This guy was a brother Knight, we fondly remember his presidency and want to maintain the memory of the wonderful speeches he gave," said Knights spokesman Patrick Korten.

Kennedy was the nation's first Catholic president, and he was a member of the group's Bunker Hill Council 62 in Charlestown, Mass., from 1946 until his death in 1963.

The cemetery hired conservator Gordon Ponsford to do the work; he has done work in the cemetery in the past, the report said.

"This is for us a wonderful, not terribly expense way for us to remember him," Korten said.

The Knights are also preparing other events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration in January, including a high school essay contest.