The casket bearing the late President George H.W. Bush will arrive at the U.S. Capitol on Monday evening and will be on public display as the 41st president lies in state in the Rotunda until Wednesday morning, congressional leaders said.
The announcement came as plans for the pageantry of a state funeral were set in motion Saturday, with the capital city and nation preparing to honor Bush through events in Texas and Washington.
Since 1969, a joint task force of nearly 4,000 military and civilian personnel in the capital region has coordinated the apparatus involved in several days of carefully observed tradition, protocols and ceremony for the public memorial to an American head of state.
“We, the men and women of the Department of Defense, are honored and proud to support the Bush family and will do so with the utmost respect,” Maj. Gen. Michael L. Howard of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region said in a statement.
“This state funeral is a culmination of years of planning and rehearsal to ensure the support the military renders President Bush is nothing less than a first-class tribute.”
The last state funeral occurred 11 years ago, when Gerald Ford, the 38th president, laid in state at the Capitol in 2007.
Members of Congress will pay their respects in a bicameral arrival ceremony starting at 5 p.m. on Monday. Then the general public will be allowed to do the same beginning at 7:30 p.m., officials said. The late president will lie in state until Wednesday morning.
A spokesman for the Bush family, Jim McGrath, said on Twitter that funeral information would be posted on a website established to pay tribute to the 41st president, www.georgehwbush.com. Bush died late Friday.
By tradition, presidential families are able to personalize the event in many ways, choosing the sequence and location of observances, which can include a full military parade along Constitution Avenue and other details such as a horse-drawn caisson to transport a late president’s casket from Washington National Cathedral to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.
President Donald Trump is declaring Wednesday a national day of mourning and ordering flags on all public buildings to be lowered to half-staff for the next 30 days.
Preparations began in Bush’s home state of Texas, where his children had gathered – including the 43rd president, George W. Bush, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Bush’s remains are expected to be flown from Texas to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. U.S. Capitol Police, D.C. police, the National Park Service and other local authorities reported Saturday that they were on standby as they awaited direction from the military about their roles in the ceremonies and how the events may impact the region.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post · Arelis R. Hernández
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