WASHINGTON — Former President Jimmy Carter made his final trip to Washington, DC Tuesday afternoon, arriving at Joint Base Andrews on Special Air Mission 39.
A 21-gun salute honored the 39th president as he arrived.
Carter died at the age of 100 last month after living in hospice for two years. He was America’s longest-living president.
The former president’s casket was removed from the plane, cannons fired and a military band played. A hearse emblazoned with the seal of the president joined a motorcade that steered toward Washington.
A motorcade transported his remains to the U.S. Navy Memorial honoring Carter’s service as a Navy submariner.
His casket was transferred to a military wagon pulled by horses for the funeral procession.
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Carter was the first president to step out of the presidential limousine and walk with his wife Rosalynn by his side down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House on his inauguration day 48 years ago.
On Tuesday, his family did the same but this time walking to the Capitol -- a reflection of his inauguration parade.
Channel 2’s Karyn Greer watched on as the procession reached the U.S. Capitol steps. Honorary pallbearers - Carter’s grandchildren - followed the casket inside for a lying-in-state ceremony.
A bipartisan delegation of members of Congress was led into the Capitol Rotunda by Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Democrats who represent Carter’s home state. Vice President Kamala Harris, members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet and three of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices — John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan — also were present.
Members of Congress laid wreaths and gave eulogies, paying tribute to Carter’s political career that took him from a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia to the White House.
“President Carter’s life, his selfless service, his fight against cancer and his lasting contributions to his fellow man are all truly remarkable,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
Vice President Kamala Harris remembered Carter’s life of service.
“Jimmy Carter established a new model for what it means to be a former president and leaves an extraordinary post-presidential legacy,” Harris said.
The U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club performed the patriotic hymn “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” before bipartisan congressional leaders and Harris, accompanied by her husband Doug Emhoff, placed wreaths beside the casket. Members of Carter’s family, including some of his grandchildren, wiped tears.
Carter will lie in state in the Capitol rotunda until his state funeral on Thursday, before being brought back to Georgia for a private family funeral and his burial next to his wife Rosalynn at their family plot outside their Plains home.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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