Four-day Bush tribute ends with Texas burial
HOUSTON, Dec 6, (Agencies): George H.W. Bush was to be laid to rest Thursday, concluding a four-day tribute to the 41st president that saw America briefly set aside its political divisions.
After a state funeral Wednesday in Washington that was attended by the country’s five living presidents and foreign dignitaries, Bush’s flag-draped coffin was flown to Houston.
He will lie in repose at St Martin’s Episcopal Church, where the Bushes worshipped for decades, until he is buried.
Bush will be interred at his presidential library in College Station next to his wife Barbara, who died in April, and their daughter Robin who died of leukemia at age three.
At the memorial service President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania shared a front row pew in the National Cathedral with past presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and their wives as an honor guard brought Bush’s casket into the prayer hall.
Former president George W. Bush tapped the casket twice when he walked up to deliver a rousing eulogy, fighting through tears as he sang the praises of his father and predecessor as commander-in-chief, who died Friday at age 94.
“He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage, and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country,” Bush said.
“He was born with just two settings – full throttle, then sleep,” he said. “To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light,” he said in a reference to his father’s signature call to volunteerism.
Wednesday’s funeral capped a national homage that saw Bush lie in state in the US Capitol rotunda, where thousands paid respects to a statesman who steered the nation through turbulent times including the end of the Cold War – and in a style dramatically different to the current president.
Since Bush’s death, Trump has traded his usual provocative posture for one of solemnity, tweeting before the service about “a day of celebration for a great man who has led a long and distinguished life.” “He will be missed!” Trump wrote. At the funeral, Trump and his Democratic predecessors appeared locked in an uneasy truce.
Trump arrived and shook hands with Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
But his greetings stopped there, and the body language turned cold as he failed to acknowledge Hillary Clinton, his defeated Democratic rival in 2016.
Clinton stared straight ahead and the two made no eye contact.
It was a marked contrast when Bush Jr arrived minutes later and shook hands with the current and past presidents and their wives – and handed Michelle Obama a piece of candy, as he did during the memorial service for senator John McCain in the same cathedral in September.
Bells tolled while the casket was carried down the aisle, as dignitaries including Britain’s Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Polish president Lech Walesa, and former US vice-presidents and cabinet officials looked on.
Bush was a decorated World War II aviator who nearly died when he was shot down on a bombing mission.
More than 11,000 people paid their respects to Bush as his casket lay in repose all night at a Houston church where his family worshipped. Some visitors waited for hours to pay tribute to Bush, who will be buried following a funeral at St Martin’s Episcopal Church.
Thursday’s service began with “America the Beautiful” and a robust rendition of “The
Star-Spangled Banner.”
It attracted local sports stars including Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and was featuring eulogies from Bush’s grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the only member of the famous family still holding elected office, and James Baker, his former secretary of state and a close friend for decades. Hymns being sung were chosen and loved by the former president, said the church’s pastor, Rev Russell J. Levenson Jr.
Performing were some of Bush’s favorite country music stars including the Oak Ridge Boys doing “Amazing Grace” and Reba McEntire offering “The Lord’s Prayer” as three days of official ceremonies in Washington gave way to more personal touches for the former president in Texas.
The nation’s capital bid him goodbye Wednesday in a Washington funeral service that offered high praise for the last of the presidents to have fought in World War II – and a hefty dose of humor about a man whose speaking delivery was once described as a cross between Mister Rogers and John Wayne.
Bush’s casket returned for the services in Houston, a ride on a special funeral train and eventual burial at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station. His final resting place is alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukemia at age 3.
In the service at Washington National Cathedral, three former presidents and Trump looked on as George W. Bush eulogized his father as “the brightest of a thousand points of light.”
The cathedral service was a tribute to a president, a patriarch and a faded political era that prized military service and public responsibility. It was laced with indirect comparisons to Trump but was not consumed by them, as speakers focused on Bush’s public life and character – with plenty of cracks about his goofy side, too.
“He was a man of such great humility,” said Alan Simpson, former Republican senator from Wyoming. Those who travel “the high road of humility in Washington, DC,” he added pointedly, “are not bothered by heavy traffic.”
Trump sat with his wife, a trio of expresidents and their wives, several of them sharp critics of his presidency and one of them, Hillary Clinton, his 2016 Democratic foe. Apart from courteous nods and some handshakes, there was little interaction between Trump and the others.