As mourning in the US for the late John S. McCain continues, the nation’s highest burial honors will be bestowed upon the often fractious and combative five-term Republican Senator from Arizona.
McCain’s casket will lie in state on Capitol Hill, an honor reserved for very few Americans, while plans for a ‘full-dress’ funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral include the attendance of US Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush — the former personally asked by McCain to deliver a eulogy.
Two-term US President Barack Obama made no secret of his respect for McCain.
McCain will be buried with full military honors in the US Naval Academy Cemetery above the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland — the legacy homeground of the United States Navy — next to best friend and fellow Academy graduate Admiral Chuck Larson.
The current US president, Donald Trump, was specifically requested by McCain to stay away from the ceremonies. McCain’s action toward the strikingly unpopular Trump is seen as characteristic of the former US Navy pilot’s blunt honesty regarding friends and foes alike.
Americans were quick to note that McCain’s choices, even in death, were larger than life.
Some 30 Americans have lain in state in the US capitol rotunda, an honor bestowed only on the nation’s “most eminent citizens.” The practice, begun in 1852, will see McCain as the 13th US Senator to receive the accolade, according to Nytimes.com.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
