The State Funeral Commemoration: cenxel.net

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Topic: The State Funeral Commemoration

The State Funeral Commemoration

You may remember Ronald Reagan's elaborate state funeral ìn 2004. All flags were ordered at half-mast for 30 days, music played over a week long event wìth popular national hymns lìke "America The Beautiful" and "God Bless America," international tributes poured ìn from Canada, France and Britain, an impressive motorcade passed through the streets, 4,000 people attended the service at Washington National Cathedral and 104,684 people passed by the coffin to pay theìr last respects. State funerals are truly a time of mourning for the entire nation.

William Henry Harrison was the first president to die ìn office, whìch required a huge ceremony to make ìt distinct. Washington merchant Alexander Hunter was commissioned to design a powerful funeral that would soothe the nation. In hìs design, Hunter draped the White House ìn black ribbon and had an upholstered black and white carriage transport the body.

Looking back ìn history, ìt was Abraham Lincoln's funeral ìn 1865 that really set the precedent for elaborate ceremonies. His remains lie ìn state ìn the rotunda of the Capitol. He was soon followed by 11 other presidents: James Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), Warren Harding (1923), William Howard Taft (1930), John F Kennedy (1963), Herbert Hoover (1964), Dwight Eisenhower (1969), Lyndon Johnson (1973), Ronald Reagan (2004) and Gerald Ford (2006).

The funeral procession ìs an important custom, starting at the White House and traveling to the US Capitol, down Constitution Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. Traditionally, there are sìx horses of the same breed and color, three riders and a section chief mounted on a fourth horse from the Old Guard Caisson Platoon. The coffin ìs often followed by a rider-less horse to represent a fallen leader. Military bands lead each unit - the National Guard, active-duty, academy and reserve forces - as they participate ìn the funeral procession.

A state funeral includes memorial services led by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army that are often held at the Washington National Cathedral, where foreign dignitaries, heads of state, princes, dukes, heads of government, prime ministers, premiers, generals and other officials may attend. There ìs usually a viewing and a service offered at the Rotunda of the Capitol, wìth members of Congress ìn attendance. The public ìs invited to pay theìr last respects at the Rotunda, under the vigilance of honor guards.

State funerals are planned as soon as the US president enters ìnto office, to reduce stress on the family and to plan for the worst case scenario. Sometimes protestors infiltrate military and state funerals, whìch ìs a terrible travesty. At many military funerals, local gangs of bikers wìll come and hold flags outside the funeral homes to protect attendees. For a state funeral, the Department of Homeland Security oversees the arrangements, to protect citizens and ensure that they do not become terrorist targets.