WASHINGTON, Dec 4 — America’s national farewell to George H.W. Bush began today as the 41st US president touched down on his final journey to Washington, where his remains will lie in state in the US Capitol rotunda.
Bush died Friday at age 94, at his home in Houston — “a very gentle and peaceful passing”, in the words of his lifelong friend and advisor James Baker.
Only the second president to see his son follow him to the Oval Office, Bush will be honoured with four days of services and tributes in Washington and in Texas, where he will be buried Thursday.
The high point of the commemorations will come Wednesday with a state funeral service at Washington National Cathedral — the first presidential funeral since Gerald Ford died in 2006.
Bush was a decorated World War II fighter pilot, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, and vice president to Ronald Reagan before winning the White House.
President Donald Trump — who has often clashed with the Bush family — has declared Wednesday a national day of mourning, and plans to attend the funeral along with his wife Melania.
“Looking forward to being with the Bush Family to pay my respects to President George H.W. Bush,” Trump tweeted today.
Hands on hearts
Members of Bush’s Secret Service detail served as pallbearers today, carrying the flag-draped casket into a hearse which then rolled slowly through Houston streets, where some people were seen standing somberly on the sidewalks.
Bush was transported aboard the presidential Boeing 747 — made available at Trump’s direction — from Houston to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland.
The plane is only known as Air Force One when the sitting president is aboard.
Family spokesman Jim McGrath said the flights to carry Bush are being dubbed “Special Air Mission 41.”
“A beautiful day In Texas — ‘ceiling and visibility unlimited,’ Mr. President,” he wrote — using a phrase that Bush held dear from his time in the US Navy, and one used by his family and friends to discreetly spread the news of his death.
Son George W. Bush — the nation’s 43rd president — and other relatives stood with hands on their hearts as the flag-draped casket was carried to the aircraft. The family members then climbed the stairs into the plane.
Also present as Bush left on his final trip was his service dog Sully. McGrath posted a touching photo of the yellow Labrador lying near Bush’s casket Sunday with the phrase “Mission Complete.”
After a speech from Vice President Mike Pence, Bush will lie in state in the US Capitol from today until Wednesday morning, under the watchful gaze of an around-the-clock honour guard.
Bush will be the 12th US president to lie in state in the rotunda. After an official ceremony, thousands of Americans are expected to file in to pay their final respects to Bush.
The casket will then be transported to the cathedral for Wednesday’s state funeral service — the fourth held there for a former president.
Trump and George W. Bush will attend the ceremony, likely along with other living US presidents and dozens of foreign leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel, and US luminaries.
Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney said he would deliver one of several eulogies, at Bush’s request.
The casket will then be flown back to Houston, where the former head of state will lie in repose at St Martin’s Episcopal Church — where the Bushes worshipped for decades — until Thursday’s funeral.
The remains will then be transported by train for interment at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center, in College Station, Texas.
Bush will be buried next to his wife Barbara, who died in April, and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia at age three.
One-term president
Baker, who served Bush as secretary of state, joined others in paying warm tribute on Sunday talk shows.
Baker called him “far and away the best one-term president we have ever had,” alluding to Bush’s single biggest political failure — his 1992 election loss to Democrat Bill Clinton.
Baker instead emphasized his friend’s foreign policy successes: navigating the end of the Cold War and marshalling a global coalition to eject Iraqi troops from Kuwait in the first Gulf War.
Despite Bush’s record approval ratings after “Desert Storm,” he disappointed Americans on the domestic front. The US economy slid into recession in 1990, and recovery was sluggish, conditions which contributed to Clinton’s victory.
The former president struggled for years with Parkinson’s disease, which left him wheelchair-bound and often hospitalized — including after Barbara’s death. — AFP
