George H. W. Bush, 41st president of US, laid to rest after final salute

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The flag-draped casket of former US President George H. W. Bush passes through Magnolia, Texas, on December 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. (AFP/David J. Phillip/Pool)

George H. W. Bush, 41st president of US, laid to rest after final salute

Thousands gather to pay respects as train carries casket from Houston to private family burial, following week of tearful goodbyes and rare displays of unity

 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Former US President George H.W. Bush, remembered as much for his legacy of service as his impact on history, was buried Thursday, capping days of tribute from a nation that briefly set aside political divisions to honor him.

After a state funeral Wednesday in Washington that was attended by the country’s five living presidents, foreign dignitaries and others, Bush’s flag-draped casket was flown to Texas for a final farewell.

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But his burial at Bush’s presidential library center in College Station, Texas — alongside Barbara, his wife of 73 years, and their daughter Robin who died of leukemia at age 3 — was a private family service.

“The 41st President of the United States of America, George Herbert Walker Bush, has reached his final resting place,” family spokesman Jim McGrath posted on Twitter.

Bush, who died Friday at age 94, lay in repose at St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, where he was eulogized at a final memorial service by close friend James Baker, who served as his secretary of state.

“His incredible service to our nation and the world are already etched in the marble of time,” Baker said, highlighting the sense of duty, service, and personal grace that drove Bush.

Former secretary of state James Baker III walks by the flag-draped casket after giving a eulogy during a funeral for former President George H. W. Bush at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Thursday, December 6, 2018, in Houston. (AP/Mark Humphrey)

Fighting through tears, the 88-year-old Baker recalled how Bush’s deeds “expressed his moral character, and they reflected his decency, his boundless kindness and consideration of others, his determination always to do the right thing.”

Final resting place

Son George W. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president, appeared somber at his wife Laura’s side, and stood ramrod straight as military pallbearers carried the casket from the Houston church to a waiting hearse.

It was then placed on a train — with a locomotive painted in the colors and pattern of Air Force One, the presidential jet — for the final journey to the presidential library, part of a precise series of ritualized events.

There were emotional displays along the route in towns like Spring, Magnolia, Navasota and College Station.

Firefighters stand on their truck and salute along with other attendants on an overpass as the train carrying the body of former President George H. W. Bush travels past on the way to Bush’s final internment Thursday, December 6, 2018, in Spring, Texas. (AP/Michael Wyke)

Crowds of people braved rainy weather to mass beside the tracks, where they held American flags, saluted, cheered and waved goodbye as the train rolled slowly past.

Bush was the 12th president to lie in state in the US Capitol rotunda
.

Thousands paid respects there to a statesman who steered the nation through turbulent times including the end of the Cold War and the marshaling of an international coalition to oust invading Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Former US President George H.W . Bush?’s casket arrives on a train before the interment ceremony at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, on December 6, 2018. (AFP/Suzanne Cordeiro)

On Thursday, Baker pointed to Bush’s eagerness to forge compromise and peace rather than rattle sabers.

“He had the courage of a warrior,” Baker said. “But when the time came for prudence, he always maintained the greater courage of a peacemaker.”

In this Feb. 11, 1991, file photo, President George H.W. Bush talks to reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House after meeting with top military advisers to discuss the Persian Gulf War. From left are, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, Vice President Dan Quayle, White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, the president, Secretary of State James A. Baker III, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

Bush was a decorated World War II aviator who nearly died when he was shot down on a bombing mission.

He served as a congressman, envoy to China and to the United Nations, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and vice president to Ronald Reagan before winning the White House.

At Wednesday’s service in Washington, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania shared a front row pew in the National Cathedral with past presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and their wives, to honor Bush.

Son George delivered an emotional eulogy in tribute to his father. The pair are only the second father-son presidential duo in American history, after John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush hold their hands over their hearts as they wait for the casket of former President George H.W. Bush on December 6, 2018 in College Station, Texas. (Sergio Flores/Getty Images/AFP)

Since Bush’s death, Trump has traded his usual provocative posture for one of solemnity and respect for the Bushes, with whom he has often clashed since his meteoric rise in the world of politics.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and former President Barack Obama watch during the State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

As Trump toned down the rhetoric this week, Washington’s political heat was reduced from a normal boil to a simmer.

But at Wednesday’s service, tensions were obvious.

Trump arrived and shook hands with the Obamas, but his body language turned cold as he failed to acknowledge Hillary Clinton, his defeated Democratic rival in 2016, or her president husband Bill.

 

Source: The Times of Israel

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