Funeral For Gerald Ford Held In Washington
Posted January 2, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A motorcade rolled past the White House on the morning of the second day of 2007, and minutes later the body of former U.S. president Gerald R. Ford arrived at Washington National Cathedral for an invitation-only funeral service – a veritable who’s who of American political players past, present and possibly future.
On a day when federal workers are given time off, the number of people in Washington D.C. was down drastically, though smaller crowds still gathered along the motorcade route, with some saluting the casket as it rode by.
Inside the cathedral, the only three living former presidents, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter stood with their spouses, while current President George W. Bush escorted Ford’s widow Betty.
“In President Ford, the world saw the best of America and America found a man whose character and leadership would bring calm and healing to one of the most divisive moments in our nation’s history,” President George W. Bush later said in his prepared eulogy.
Others in attendance were former President Ronald Reagan’s wife Nancy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former New York City mayor and potential presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.
Ford’s secretary of state, Henry Kissinger and retired NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw also spoke at the service, with the former calling him an “understated” leader who “was not consumed by driving ambition.”
“In his understated way he did his duty as a leader, not as a performer playing to the gallery,” Kissinger added. “Gerald Ford had the virtues of small town America.”
Ford’s son Jack and daughter Susan also both gave readings at the service.
Canada was represented at the funeral by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Wilson.
Meanwhile, in Canada the flags on all government buildings were at half mast to honour Ford, the 38 th President of the United States, who passed away on Boxing Day at the age of 93.
Ford became president in 1974 after the resignation of Richard Nixon amidst the Watergate scandal, and remains the only person to have held both the vice presidency and the presidency without being elected for either.
After the ceremony, the body will be flown to Ford’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he’ll be buried Wednesday on the grounds of the presidential museum which bears his name.
Sign up for a del.icio.us account here to save your bookmarks for free online.
