Events in Washington
The events in Washington, D.C., began on December 30, 2006, when Ford's body, flown aboard the Presidential VC-25A SAM 29000 Boeing 747, arrived at Andrews Air Force Base that evening. From there, it was driven by hearse in a simple procession, passing through Alexandria, Virginia, to pay tribute to where he lived when in the House, into the capital city, pausing by the National World War II Memorial to pay tribute to his service as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during World War II, and onto Capitol Hill. At the World War II Memorial, Eagle Scouts stood along the street for a short distance, in honor of President Ford's status as an Eagle Scout. In addition, Ford was piped aboard, a Navy tradition used to honor senior officers.
Female alumnae of United States Military Academies joined in an elongated salute in tribute to Ford. Ford signed legislation in 1976 that allowed women to attend the Military Academies.
President Ford's family honored his wishes to have details of his funeral made as simple as possible. As such, a hearse was utilized en route to the Capitol, rather than having the sometimes utilized horse-drawn caisson.
Read more about this topic: Death And State Funeral Of Gerald Ford
Famous quotes containing the words events and/or washington:
“All the events which make the annals of the nations are but the shadows of our private experiences.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The government is huge, stupid, greedy and makes nosy, officious and dangerous intrusions into the smallest corners of life—this much we can stand. But the real problem is that government is boring. We could cure or mitigate the other ills Washington visits on us if we could only bring ourselves to pay attention to Washington itself. But we cannot.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)