Dec. 4 (UPI) — A line of mourners stretched from the U.S. Capitol rotunda to the grounds outside Tuesday as hundreds waited to see the casket of former President George H.W. Bush.
The public viewing was expected to run until 7 a.m. Wednesday when preparations for Bush’s funeral will begin. The scene Tuesday was tranquil and quiet, as a military honor guard stood watch.
Visitors to the Capitol cannot take gifts or tokens, including flowers, into the building. All photography is also prohibited and mobile devices must be silenced.
Bush’s casket will leave the Capitol on Wednesday for a memorial at the Washington National Cathedral at 11 a.m. EST. Among the speakers at the service will be his son, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush, former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., historian John Meacham and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
From there, Bush will return to Houston for final services, departing the cathedral at 12:30 p.m.
There will be a service at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday once Bush’s casket arrives at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston. He will lie in repose there until 6 a.m. Thursday before his funeral services there.
President Donald Trump said Bush was a man of the “greatest generation” who worked selflessly to bring about justice and peace. He and first lady Melania Trump visited the casket Monday.
“President George H.W. Bush led a life that exemplified what is truly great about America,” Trump said in a presidential message to Congress on Monday. “With his passing, we mark one of the last pages of a defining chapter in American history.”
Bush died Friday at age 94 at his Houston-area home.
“He was just a really great guy — classy, intelligent,” said Rick Johnson, who raised money for Bush’s presidential library at Texas A&M University. “He would treat everyone like a friend. That part of my life was just exceptional.”
Vice President Mike Pence said at the Capitol on Monday evening that Bush loved his family and served his country, referring to his time as a torpedo bomber pilot in World War II.
“His example will always inspire and his lifetime of service will be enshrined in the hearts of the American people forever,” Pence said.
