A ‘solemn sense of awe’
Mourners file into the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to pay respects,
WASHINGTON – Mourners kept filing through the U.S. Capitol early Tuesday to see the coffin holding the remains of former President George H.W. Bush and pay respects to someone they said exemplified public service and personal integrity.
Among them: Colin Powell, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the 41st president more then 25 years ago, and Sully, the yellow Labrador retriever and service dog who watched over Bush during the last months of his life.
Andrew Bracy, 51, of Glendora, California, said he felt a “solemn sense of awe” as he entered the Rotunda.
“This was the time to pay our respects,” Bracy said when asked why he took a red-eye flight from the West Coast to view the flag-draped casket. “It just felt like the right time.”
Former Marine Virgil Gaiter, 50, was serving overseas in Operation Desert Storm when Bush met with some of the troops. He recalled how the commander in chief sat among them during the Gulf War and shared meals.
“He came and visited me in the desert, so I felt like I should come and pay my respects,” the Atlanta native said as he waited outside the Capitol building. “It made me proud he was there with us. He was another soldier sharing the burden with us.”
Democrats showed up as well to pay their respects to the former president.
“He had a great moral character,” said Melissa Crowshaw, 50, of Bethesda, Maryland, citing Bush’s work in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990.
Bush, 94, died late Friday at his home in Houston after a battle with vascular Parkinsonism.
He will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda through Wednesday morning.
In a tweet Tuesday morning announcing that first lady Melania Trump would take former first lady Laura Bush on a tour of Christmas decorations at the White House, President Donald Trump declared that the “elegance & precision of the last two days have been remarkable!”
The Trumps made a surprise visit to the Capitol on Monday night to pay their respects.
For many of those who waited in line to visit Bush’s coffin, it was just as much a moment to reconnect with an old friend as it was to revere the former leader of the free world.
Sarah Lang, 33, of Baltimore, recalled Tuesday how she met Bush and his “blue, blue eyes” outside a church near the White House in 2011 and told him how grateful she was for what he had done for the nation.
“And he just said, ‘Oh, thank you so much’ like no one had ever said that to him before,” said Lang, whose parents worked for the 41st president. She said Bush’s “quality of character” represents a different era of U.S. politics. “His death is also the death of that era.”
Saying this was not the time, some mourners downplayed comparisons between Bush, who preached humility and forgiveness, and Trump, whose bombastic style and frequent putdowns of political adversaries included Bush’s son Jeb during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Caroline Aras, 60, a former media professional from Annapolis, Maryland, said that Bush set an example worth following.
“Culturally, we take our lead from our leaders,” Aras said, noting that she’s not sure “if we do that much anymore.”
Well-wishers began gathering outside the Capitol on Monday morning even before Bush’s coffin arrived. When they were allowed in, onlookers walked slowly past and absorbed the tranquil scene as a military honor guard stood watch.
Bush was eulogized Monday at a ceremony in the Capitol as a gracious, humble public servant who remained a model of human decency throughout his life. In attendance were his son former President George W. Bush and other members of the Bush family.
“President George Herbert Walker Bush loved his family, and he served his country,” Vice President Mike Pence said. “His example will always inspire, and his lifetime of service will be enshrined in the hearts of the American people forever.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called Bush “a great leader and a good man.”
“In consequential times, George Herbert Walker Bush demonstrated the finest qualifies of our nation and of humankind,” Ryan said.
The 41st president is likely to draw a large contingent of former and current world leaders to his state funeral Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral.
After the service, Bush’s remains will be transported to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for a departure ceremony before being taken back to Texas, where he will lie in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston until 7 a.m. Thursday.
Trump declared Wednesday a national day of mourning.
“President George H.W. Bush led a life that exemplified what is truly great about America,” Trump said in a presidential message to Congress. “As with so many of his generation, the Greatest Generation, President Bush worked selflessly throughout his long life to bring about a world of justice and lasting peace. With his passing, we mark one of the last pages of a defining chapter in American history.”