ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – The Latest on Sen. John McCain’s final service and burial (all times local):
7:25 p.m.
A grieving Cindy McCain pressed her cheek against the surface of the casket of her husband, Sen. John McCain, during the burial service Sunday for the longtime Arizona Republican.
McCain had requested to be laid to rest alongside a friend at the cemetery of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Among the mourners were other members of the Class of 1958 as well as military leaders and current academy midshipmen.
A horse-drawn caisson carrying the senator’s casket led a procession from the academy’s chapel to its cemetery following a private service.
McCain sons Jimmy and Jack shared a hug beside the casket as family, friends and other mourners bid farewell to the former prisoner of war and presidential candidate. McCain died Aug. 25 at the age of 81.
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4:25 p.m.
Sen. John McCain’s widow and other family members joined friends and admirers following a horse-drawn caisson carrying the casket of the longtime senator to the U.S. Naval Academy cemetery.
The procession left the Naval Academy’s chapel Sunday afternoon following a memorial service for McCain. Overhead, a flyover of military aircraft paid tribute to the navy pilot who was shot down in Vietnam and held five years as a prisoner of war.
The service and burial in Annapolis, Maryland, mark the final farewell for McCain. Tributes to McCain began last Wednesday in Arizona and included a funeral on Saturday at Washington’s National Cathedral.
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John McCain’s final journey from his Arizona ranch is ending on a grassy hill at the U.S. Naval Academy within view of the Severn River and earshot of midshipmen present and future, and alongside a lifelong friend.
A private service at the academy’s chapel followed by a procession to the burial site marked the farewell Sunday to a man who lived a very public life. Invited along with family and friends were members of McCain’s Class of 1958, military leaders and Naval Academy midshipmen.
One scheduled speaker at the service, Sen. Lindsey Graham, said earlier Sunday he would tell the audience that “nobody loved a soldier more than John McCain.”
The private ceremony is the final event of nearly a week of remembrances stretching from Arizona to Washington to Annapolis, Maryland.
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