On November 25, 1963, Stan Stearns captured a moment in American history. His photograph would be remembered as “John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s casket on Nov. 25, 1963,” or casually referred to as “the picture of the funeral.” The photograph’s composition is filled entirely with people, a majority of them being men, consequently providing lengthy vertical lines. These lines allow a reader to recognize the significance as soon as they see the photograph. Only two children stand in the picture on either side of their mother, Jackie Kennedy, but only one is focused on: John F. Kennedy Jr. By angling this photograph in the way he did, Stearns made John Jr. the natural center of attention. He used the little boy’s position in the photograph to convey a message. By creating the focus around John F. Kennedy’s three year old son, Stearns produced a visual, historical reference which symbolized John Jr. as the grieving emotions of all Americans and the sudden sense of nationalism felt by citizens across the country at the time of the tragic death of President John F. Kennedy. Several supporting details or factors in the composition reinforce this symbolization, whether the photographer used an intended perspective or he used a piece of visual evidence that contributed to the message which happened to be pure happenstance. For example, a sudden movement from a small child, like a salute. 

When initially viewing this photograph, attention is automatically drawn off-center and downward right to focus on John F. Kennedy Jr. This is partially due to the height difference between John Jr. and every other person in the photograph. Although his sister Caroline was also standing on the other side of Jackie Kennedy and was of a similar height, a majority of her figure was concealed by the saluting soldier at the front of the shot. With the exception of Caroline, John Jr. is the only child in the photograph and due to his age and correlating height it is made extremely noticeable. The top of his head barely reaches the waistband of the man standing behind him. This is an extreme height discrepancy and works as an advantage to the purpose of the photograph. The purpose of the shot is to capture the moment in which a child has just lost his father at a very young age. John Jr.’s small stature symbolizes the American nation, scared and saddened by the death of the leader of the free world. He symbolized vulnerability through the simple fact of his age alone. Stearns utilized this aura by taking this photo at an angle that would subject visual attention to the little boy, therefore associating the fragile, sensitive emotions of the American public to the small and innocent stature of John Jr.  

An additional, visual reason John F. Kennedy Jr. is supported as the center of attention is because of the photograph being in black and white. This factor contributes to the central message of the photo. A viewer’s eyes will naturally shift to a substantial color contrast in a composition. John F. Kennedy Jr.’s light hair and light clothing illuminates amongst the dark trench coats, uniforms, and Jackie Kennedy’s long, dark veil. The height difference mentioned previously, incorporated with the distinction in light, forces the viewer’s eyes to automatically shift to John Jr. This allows him to be distinguished from his mother, Jackie Kennedy, and her elaborate clothing. She herself stands out in the photograph as the predominant woman and the only woman wearing an extravagant veil. She is much taller than John Jr., and attracted a majority of attention for the fact that she was the president’s wife, the First Lady of the United States. However, her figure in the photograph is much darker and doesn’t captivate the audience in the way that her son does in this context. The downplay of the first lady in the composition of the photograph validates that Stearns’s true intentions were on John Jr. specifically. 

Although John Jr. symbolizes the grief of America, he also stands as a symbol of hope. He represents a beacon of “light” in the midst of a sea of “darkness.” In this photograph, that statement can be taken quite literally. He is the major source of brightness in the composition, with the exception of the light-washed concrete in the bottom of the photograph, and the staircase in the back. His figure contrasts substantially with the shading in the frame. This observation not only sets John Jr.’s figure apart from the rest of the people in the scene, but supports the additional viewpoint that this photograph is somewhat hopeful, rather than mournful and dark.  

Nationalism can additionally be felt through John Jr.’s stance: one hand by his side and one hand at his temple, saluting the casket of his father, President Kennedy. Stearns seized the opportunity to capture this moment at just the right time. As a three year old, John Jr. naturally raised his hand to salute his father for just a brief second. It was purely happenstance that Stearns could take a photograph of this emotional magnitude, seeing that the picture was neither staged nor had Stearns received any prior notification that the salute would take place (Flegenheimer 1). In this sense, John Jr. symbolizes the national pride of America after the assassination of President Kennedy. A fellow American had been the cause of an American tragedy. The little boy saluting his father represented the respect the rest of the country held for not only the Kennedy family, but the nation as well. Because a three year old’s sense of surroundings are minimal at such a young age, and supported by the fact that Jackie Kennedy had whispered “something” in her son’s ear just seconds before he raised his hand, the salute can also be viewed as respect from a child to a parent. The parent gives a command and the child obeys, in this case John Jr. obeying Jackie Kennedy and properly respecting his father’s passing casket.  

Any time a tragedy arises in American history, emotions run high and are felt throughout the country. In 1963, the United States of America grieved for their fallen president. The anguish citizens’ shared during that time was summarized in the stance and physical being of President John F. Kennedy’s son. John Jr. symbolized a country, with all of its sadness and loss, but also its hope. Stan Stearns simultaneously took a photograph that exemplified the respect and heartbreak of the nation along with hope for Americans to step into the future with in the image of a young person. By focusing his camera on the smallest person in the frame, Stearns captured the most well-known family in their time of sorrow as they grieved in front of the world. 
