Kennedy To Be Buried At Arlington

WASHINGTON — A Democratic source familiar with the planning says Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is to lie in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston before his funeral at a city church. Kennedy will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near his slain brothers, another official knowledgeable about the arrangements told The Associated Press.

The Democratic source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the planning, said Wednesday details are still being determined by the Kennedy family.

The funeral Mass will be at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica – known as the Mission Church – in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. Kennedy prayed there daily while his daughter, Kara, successfully battled her own cancer.

Visitors stop at the grave of President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near his slain brothers, former President John F. Kennedy and former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

An official knowledgeable about the arrangements told The Associated Press Wednesday that Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate for nearly half a century, would be laid to rest near his brothers on the famous Virginia hillside that serves as the burial sites of others from the storied clan, including former first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because arrangements were still under way.

At the site of the eternal flame rest four Kennedy family members: the former president and his wife; their baby son, Patrick, who died after two days; and a stillborn child. Former Robert F. Kennedy is buried a short distance away.

Kennedy died late Tuesday after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.

A senior defense official said the Kennedy family some time ago approached the Army to explore the possibility of burying the senator at Arlington, the nation's most celebrated burial ground of fallen military and the resting place of astronauts, Supreme Court justices and other giants in American history.

The most probable place would be near the grave of his brother, Robert, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the family had not yet announced the arrangements.

Kennedy is eligible for burial at Arlington by virtue of his service in Congress as well as his two years in the Army, 1951 to 1953. He was a private first class and served in the military police at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, then located in Paris and now in Belgium.

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Associated Press Writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this story.

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