Representative hands George W. Bush message from the Amir
WASHINGTON, Dec 5, (Agencies): The life and public service of the nation’s 41st president were celebrated with praise and humor at Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday as three former presidents looked on and a fourth – George W. Bush – prepared to eulogize his dad, the last president to fight in World War II.
The congregation, populated with foreign leaders and diplomats, Americans of high office, and others touched by Bush’s life, rose for the arrival of the casket, accompanied by clergy of faiths from around the world. In their row together, President Donald Trump and former presidents Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton stood with their spouses and all placed their hands over their hearts.
Bush was “the last great-soldier statesman,” historian Jon Meacham said in his eulogy, “our shield” in dangerous times. On a light note, he added that Bush, campaigning in a crowd in a department store, once shook hands with a mannequin. Rather than flushing in embarrassment, he simply cracked, “You never know.”
Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, on Tuesday, paid a visit to the US 43rd president, George W. Bush, handing him a written message from His Highness the Amir.
In the message, His Highness the Amir expressed deep sadness for demise of “the cordial friend, your father, His Excellency George Bush, the 41st president of the friendly United States of America.”
His Highness the Amir noted in the message that he dispatched his personal envoy, Sheikh Nasser, to the funeral of his father, re-expressing his heartfelt condolences on his demise.
“We affirm that we have lost a dear friend ... particularly dear for the Kuwaiti people who will never forget him as a supporter of justice.”
His Highness recalled the deceased ex-president’s brave stance in support of Kuwait, namely his emphatic rejection of the flagrant Iraqi aggression and his leading role in forming the international coalition for the liberation of the State of Kuwait.”
Also on Tuesday, His Highness Sheikh Nasser visited the Congress where he had final look at coffin of the deceased president.