The late Sen. John McCain was buried Sunday in a private ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., bringing to a close five days of events honoring the late Arizona Republican.
A horse-drawn caisson carrying the senator's casket led a procession of mourners from the academy's chapel to its cemetery after a private service. The senator's widow, Cindy, and his children were among those who walked behind the caisson. Joining them were family and friends as well as members of McCain's Class of 1958, military leaders and academy midshipmen.
About 4 p.m., a flyover of military aircraft honored the Navy pilot who was shot down over Vietnam and held for more than five years as a prisoner of war. The burial was private as per the wishes of McCain, the Arizona Republican and 2008 presidential nominee who died Aug. 25 from brain cancer at age 81.
One scheduled speaker at the service, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said before the service that he would tell the audience that "nobody loved a soldier more than John McCain, that I bear witness to his commitment to have their back, travel where they go, never let them be forgotten." Also expected to pay tribute were David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA director, and McCain's son Jack.
As the hearse carrying McCain passed through a gate and into the academy, there was loud applause from the several hundred people lining the street outside on the hot and muggy summer day. Many held their hands over their hearts and waved American flags. Some shouted, "God bless you."
People in the crowd held signs that read "Senator John McCain Thanks For Serving! Godspeed" and "Rest In Peace Maverick."
For his final resting place, McCain picked the historic site overlooking the Severn River, not Arlington National Cemetery, where his father and grandfather, both admirals, were buried.
Years ago, Chuck Larson, an admiral himself and an ally throughout McCain's life, reserved four plots at the cemetery -- two for McCain and himself, and two for their wives, now widows. Larson died in 2014, and McCain wrote in a recent memoir that he wanted to be buried next to his friend, "near where it began."
On Saturday, officials in Washington -- with the notable exception of President Donald Trump -- gathered at Washington National Cathedral for a memorial service that featured tributes by such speakers as former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
McCain's legacy of bipartisanship and the deterioration of civility under Trump were themes mentioned by many of those who eulogized him, with some of the sharpest words aimed at the president coming from the senator's daughter Meghan McCain.
In an appearance Sunday morning on CNN's State of the Union, former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., one of McCain's closest friends in the Senate, said the burial service was "going to be hard, because it's the last farewell."
Graham also recounted his memories of McCain during an appearance on the show. He told host Dana Bash that the main takeaway from the past week and from McCain's life is service to a cause greater than oneself.
"If you're thinking of public service, pick a cause worthy of a good fight, and, above all else, when you make a mistake, admit it," Graham said.
Both lawmakers also weighed in on Meghan McCain's tribute to her father at Saturday's memorial service, during which she said her father's America "has no need to be made great again because America was always great."
The remark was widely interpreted as a swipe at Trump, whose 2016 campaign slogan was "Make America Great Again."
"She did it the way her dad would have wanted her to do it," Lieberman said of the speech.
Graham told Bash that he was proud of Meghan McCain and said she was "her father's daughter."
Information for this article was contributed by Felicia Sonmez and Colby Itkowitz of The Washington Post; and by Susan Walsh of The Associated Press.
A Section on 09/03/2018