PHOENIX, AZ — The body of U.S. Sen. John McCain will lie in state at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Wednesday and then at the the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. on Friday. A church service is also planned in both cities before a private burial in Annapolis, Maryland, on Sunday.
Wednesday
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Sunday McCain’s body will be in Phoenix on Wednesday. “John McCain is Arizona, and we will honor his life every way we can,” he tweeted.
A private ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. PST on what would’ve been McCain’s 82nd birthday. It will be held inside the Rotunda of the Arizona State Capitol will honor McCain’s life and service to Arizona and the nation. Former Sen. Jon Kyl will speak and U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake will give a benediction, TIME reported. The public can give their respects Wednesday at the State Capitol from 1-8 p.m.
Thursday
At 9 a.m. Thursday, McCain’s widow, Cindy, will arrive at the State Capitol and the Arizona National Guard will carry her husband’s body to North Phoenix Baptist Church. The public is welcome to line the motorcade route which will last for about a half-hour.
A memorial service is planned at 10 a.m. Thursday at North Phoenix Baptist Church. Former Vice President Joe Biden is one of the people slated to deliver remarks, according to TIME. A livestream of the service is planned. A small private ceremony is then planned the same day at Sky Harbor Airport, TIME reported.
Friday
McCain’s body will then be taken Friday to Washington, D.C. to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced. The large, domed and circular room is located at the center of the U.S. Capitol. It’s used for important ceremonies, including the lying in state of eminent citizens. McCain will become just the 13th former senator to receive the distinguished honor, The New York Times reported.
A ceremony is planned Friday at 11 a.m. EST. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Mike Pence are slated to present wreaths. Members of the public can pay their respects from 2-8 p.m. EST Friday. A livestream of the ceremony will also be available.
Saturday
Beginning at 8:30 a.m. EST Saturday, Armed Forces Body Bearers will carry McCain’s body to Washington National Cathedral. McCain’s family will escort his body along Pennsylvania Avenue to the Vietnam War Memorial and will place a wreath there.
A memorial service is then set for 10 a.m. EST on Saturday at the Washington National Cathedral celebrating his life. His children will give more words to honor their father, with former President George W. Bush and former President Barack Obama also planning to speak. A livestream of that event will also be available.
Sunday
A private memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis. McCain’s family friends and former classmates are invited to the event to honor his life. Naval and military leaders, as well as the Brigade of Midshipmen, were also invited.
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After the service, a private burial ceremony is planned at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery. He’ll be laid to rest next to his Naval Academy classmate and lifelong friend, Adm. Chuck Larson. All events at the U.S. Naval Academy will be closed to the public.
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Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to McCain.
McCain, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, will be buried at the the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis overlooking the Severn River. That ceremony was expected to be private. McCain previously selected a plot next to the burial site of his former classmate and lifelong friend Chuck Larson, according to USA Today.
“The Naval Academy is mourning the loss of one of our most distinguished graduates, Sen. John McCain (USNA ’58). His life of service to our country is a legacy that will continue to be revered,” the academy tweeted.
McCain told “60 Minutes” last year that he wanted to be remembered for serving his country.
“I want, when I leave, that the ceremony is at the Naval Academy. And we just have a couple of people that stand up and say, ‘This guy, he served his country,'” McCain said.
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama were reportedly asked to give eulogies at the funeral. Obama said in a statement that he and McCain shared a “fidelity to something higher.”
“John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics. But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher – the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed. We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world. We saw this country as a place where anything is possible – and citizenship as our patriotic obligation to ensure it forever remains that way,” Obama said.
Bush, who defeated McCain in the 2000 GOP primary election for president, called McCain a man of “deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order.”
“Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended, Bush said. “Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled.”
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend the ceremony while President Donald Trump — who had very public clashes with McCain — is not.
Gov. Larry Hogan said McCain will always be one of the country’s most valiant heroes who left a legacy of selfless service, grit, and determination.
“He has long stood as a shining example of doing the right thing and standing up for his principles even – and especially – when the going gets tough,” Hogan said in a statement. “A grateful nation will be forever in his debt. The First Lady and I hold his wife Cindy, his family, and all those who knew and admired him in our prayers, and join them in mourning the loss of a true American hero who I was deeply honored to know.”
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