McCain will be laid to rest next Sunday
The war veteran and senator will lie in state in the Arizona State Capitol
Sen. John McCain’s service to his country began more than six decades ago at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis and will end there in a cemetery overlooking Maryland’s Severn River. A private burial service next Sunday will conclude nearly a week of events honouring the Navy aviator, prisoner of war, Congressman, longtime senator and presidential contender. The Arizona Republican died of brain cancer Saturday at 81 at his ranch near Sedona.
Plans taking shape called for McCain to lie in state Wednesday in the Arizona State Capitol on what would have been his 82nd birthday. A funeral will be conducted Thursday at North Phoenix Baptist Church with former Vice-President Joe Biden speaking.
In Washington, McCain will lie in state Friday in the Capitol Rotunda with a formal ceremony and time for the public to pay respects. On Saturday, a procession will pass the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and arrive for a funeral at Washington National Cathedral. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are expected to speak at the service.
As he wished, McCain will be buried next to a Naval Academy classmate and lifelong friend, Chuck Larson.
President Donald Trump was not expected to attend any of the services. McCain had long feuded with Trump, and two White House officials said McCain’s family had asked, before the senator’s death, that Trump not attend services. Vice-President Mike Pence is likely to attend, said the officials.
Trump noted the senator’s death in a tweet Saturday: “My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!” First lady Melania Trump tweeted thanks to McCain for his service to the country.
Bush and Obama had been McCain’s political opponents, too, blocking his White House ambitions in 2000 and 2008, respectively.
Tributes poured in from around the globe. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted in English that McCain “was a true American hero. He devoted his entire life to his country.” And Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, called McCain “a tireless fighter for a strong transAtlantic alliance. His significance went well beyond his own country.”