WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama paid tribute Wednesday to former President John F. Kennedy’s legacy, joining former President Bill Clinton to lay a wreath at Kennedy’s grave and presenting a freedom medal that Kennedy conceived before his assassination 50 years ago this week.

One on each side, Obama and Clinton held the hands of Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, as they made their way up the stairs at Arlington National Cemetery. First lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined the two presidents to place a wreath near the eternal flame that marks Kennedy’s gravesite.