WASHINGTON — Plane carrying casket of former President George HW Bush arrives at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Plane carrying casket of former President George HW Bush arrives at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plane carrying casket of former President George HW Bush arrives at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) – The casket carrying the remains of George H.W. Bush has arrived at the U.S. Capitol for the nation to begin its formal farewell to the 41st president.

His remains arrived Monday afternoon at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington aboard an aircraft that often serves as Air Force One. Former President George W. Bush, the eldest of the four Bush sons, and his wife, Laura, along with brother Neil Bush and his family, were aboard the plane for the trip from Houston.

Following a short service Monday afternoon, the president’s remains will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday morning.

Bush died Friday in Houston at age 94. An invitation-only funeral service is set for Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral. President Donald Trump is among the dignitaries who plan to attend. </s> Former President George H.W. Bush received a 21-gun-salute both when the casket carrying his body departed from Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston and when it arrived at Joint Air Force Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon.

Bush, the nation’s 41st president, died late Friday at the age of 94.

Air Force One, re-designated Special Air Mission 41, landed at Andrews at approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern carrying the remains of the former commander-in-chief.

The Associated Press reported that among those on-board for the flight were Bush’s sons, former President George W. Bush with his wife Laura, and Neil Bush, a Houston-based businessman.

“A formation of Navy sailors and Air Force personnel stood at attention as the plane touched down. The sailors assembled were from the USS George H. W. Bush, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier. A group of about 100 civilian dignitaries and well-wishers also were on hand,” according to the AP.

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A military band played “Hail to the Chief” as Bush’s flag-draped casket was moved from the presidential plane to a waiting hearse, which transported the casket to the U.S. Capitol, approximately 14 miles to the northwest.

Bush will lie in state at the Capitol from Monday evening until Wednesday, when his casket will be removed for a funeral at National Cathedral in Washington.

Fox News reported that George W. Bush will be among four who will deliver eulogies at the ceremony.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who also eulogized Bush’s predecessor Ronald Reagan, will speak too, as well as former Wyoming Republican senator and friend Alan Simpson and presidential historian Jon Meacham.

Meacham, author of “Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush” (2015), also spoke at former first lady Barbara Bush’s funeral in Houston in June.

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In an Op-Ed for The New York Times published on Saturday, Meacham wrote, “George Herbert Walker Bush, who died Friday night, at 94, was the last president of the Greatest Generation, a gentleman who came of age in an ever-uglier arena, the embodiment of a postwar era of consensus that, in our time, seems as remote as Agincourt.

“He deserves our praise, but he also repays closer historical consideration, for his life offers an object lesson in the best that politics, which is inherently imperfect, can be.”

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend Wednesday’s funeral, though the president is not slated to speak.

Trump has declared Wednesday a national day of mourning for Bush and directed that all executive departments and agencies be closed.

He has also ordered the flag to be flown at half-staff for 30 days, starting from the date of Bush’s death.

Following the Wednesday funeral in Washington, Bush’s casket will be flown back to Houston for a service at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, where Barbara Bush was memorialized in June.

Following that service, Bush’s body will be taken by train to the campus of Texas A&M in College Station, where the 41st president will be laid to rest next to Barbara and their daughter Robin at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> George H.W. Bush came back to Washington for a final time Monday, heading for the Capitol to lie in state as the nation paid tribute to the 41st president for a lifetime of service that began in the Navy during World War II, ended with four years as president and was characterized throughout by what admirers say was decency, generosity and kindness.Sent off from his beloved Texas with a 21-gun salute, Bush's casket was carried to Andrews Air Force Base outside the capital city aboard an aircraft that often serves as Air Force One.Former President George W. Bush, the eldest of the four Bush sons, and his wife, Laura, along with brother Neil Bush and his family, boarded the plane for the cross-country trip to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.On Sunday, students, staff and visitors had flocked to Bush's presidential library on the campus of Texas A&M University, with thousands of mourners paying their respects at a weekend candlelight vigil at a nearby pond and others contributing to growing flower memorials at Bush statues at both the library and a park in downtown Houston."I think he was one of the kindest, most generous men," said Marge Frazier, who visited the downtown statue on Sunday while showing friends from California around.A similar outpouring is anticipated in Washington this week during the state funeral for Bush, who died late Friday at his home in Houston. He was 94.Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda for a ceremony and public visitation from Monday through Wednesday. An invitation-only funeral service is set for Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are to attend. Bush's family has not said who will speak at the service. Former President Jimmy Carter also will be there.Afterward, Bush will be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St. Martin's Episcopal Church before burial Thursday at his family plot on the library grounds. His final resting place will be alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years who died in April, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukemia in 1953 at age 3.Bush's casket was to arrive in Washington on Monday afternoon aboard the U.S. military airplane. The crew was tasked by Trump with carrying out "Special Air Mission 41," a reference to Bush's place in the roster of America's presidents.media ID="4816003" </s> HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush will be honored during several public and private events in Houston and Washington before his burial Thursday in Texas.

Four days of events for Bush, who died Friday at age 94, include a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral, a private service at his longtime church in Houston and public viewings in both cities. He will be buried next to his wife Barbara and their daughter Robin who died in 1953.

Here are details about the events:

Bush’s body was transported by a motorcade Monday morning from a Houston funeral home to Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, a Texas Air National Guard base. The casket was loaded onto a plane during a departure ceremony and flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Relatives accompanying the casket included his sons, former President George W. Bush and Neil Bush, along with members of their immediate families. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the rest of the Bush family met the party when the body arrived at Joint Base Andrews.

Houston hosted a public tribute to Bush on Monday night. Mayor Sylvester Turner had urged attendees to wear colorful socks, a nod to the former president’s fondness for sporting loud socks often emblazoned with unusual patterns during public events.

Family spokesman Jim McGrath tweeted Monday that Bush will be laid to rest wearing gray socks honoring his days as a naval aviator.

In Washington, Bush is lying in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol until 8:45 a.m. EST Wednesday. His casket will be transported by motorcade Wednesday morning to the National Cathedral, where a state funeral will be held at 11 a.m. EST. President Donald Trump, who ordered federal offices closed on Wednesday for a national day of mourning, is to attend with first lady Melania Trump.

Following the service at the National Cathedral, Bush will be flown to Houston on Wednesday with a scheduled arrival of around 4:30 p.m. CST. His body will be transported by motorcade to St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, where he and his wife regularly worshipped. A public viewing of Bush’s casket will be held at the church from 6:45 p.m. CST on Wednesday until 6 a.m. CST on Thursday.

On Thursday, a private funeral service with about 1,200 invited guests will be held at the church starting at 10 a.m. CST. After the hour-long service, a motorcade will transport Bush’s casket to a train station north of Houston, near the international airport named after Bush.

A ceremony will be held at the train station as Bush’s casket is loaded onto a Union Pacific train. The train will take about 2½ hours to travel roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the city of College Station, home to Bush’s presidential library at Texas A&M University.

The locomotive has been painted the colors of the Air Force One plane used during Bush’s presidency and bears the number “4141” in honor of the 41st president. The casket will be in a car with Plexiglas windows to allow people to see it during the trip, according to McGrath, the family spokesman.

The train is scheduled to arrive in College Station on Thursday around 3:45 p.m. CST. Bush’s casket will then be transported by motorcade to the presidential library, where he will be buried at the gated family plot near his wife and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia at age 3. Barbara Bush died on April 17 at their Houston home. The couple was married for 73 years , longer than any other U.S. presidential couple.

Ceremonies at the presidential library will include a missing man formation flyover. The casket will then be rolled along a path through woods, over a bridge and over a creek for burial during a private graveside service with Bush’s family.

See AP’s complete coverage of George H.W. Bush here: https://www.apnews.com/GeorgeHWBush </s> HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush will be honored during several public and private events in Houston and Washington before his burial Thursday in Texas.

Four days of events for Bush, who died Friday at age 94, include a state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral, a private service at his longtime church in Houston and public viewings in both cities. He will be buried next to his wife Barbara and their daughter Robin who died in 1953.

Here are details about the events:

Bush's body was transported by a motorcade Monday morning from a Houston funeral home to Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, a Texas Air National Guard base. The casket was loaded onto a plane during a departure ceremony and flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Relatives accompanying the casket included his sons, former President George W. Bush and Neil Bush, along with members of their immediate families. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the rest of the Bush family met the party when the body arrived at Joint Base Andrews.

Houston hosted a public tribute to Bush on Monday night. Mayor Sylvester Turner had urged attendees to wear colorful socks, a nod to the former president's fondness for sporting loud socks often emblazoned with unusual patterns during public events.

Family spokesman Jim McGrath tweeted Monday that Bush will be laid to rest wearing gray socks honoring his days as a naval aviator.

In Washington, Bush is lying in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol until 8:45 a.m. EST Wednesday. His casket will be transported by motorcade Wednesday morning to the National Cathedral, where a state funeral will be held at 11 a.m. EST. President Donald Trump, who ordered federal offices closed on Wednesday for a national day of mourning, is to attend with first lady Melania Trump.

Following the service at the National Cathedral, Bush will be flown to Houston on Wednesday with a scheduled arrival of around 4:30 p.m. CST. His body will be transported by motorcade to St. Martin's Episcopal Church, where he and his wife regularly worshipped. A public viewing of Bush's casket will be held at the church from 6:45 p.m. CST on Wednesday until 6 a.m. CST on Thursday.

On Thursday, a private funeral service with about 1,200 invited guests will be held at the church starting at 10 a.m. CST. After the hour-long service, a motorcade will transport Bush's casket to a train station north of Houston, near the international airport named after Bush.

A ceremony will be held at the train station as Bush's casket is loaded onto a Union Pacific train. The train will take about 2½ hours to travel roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the city of College Station, home to Bush's presidential library at Texas A&M University.

The locomotive has been painted the colors of the Air Force One plane used during Bush's presidency and bears the number "4141" in honor of the 41st president. The casket will be in a car with Plexiglas windows to allow people to see it during the trip, according to McGrath, the family spokesman.

The train is scheduled to arrive in College Station on Thursday around 3:45 p.m. CST. Bush's casket will then be transported by motorcade to the presidential library, where he will be buried at the gated family plot near his wife and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia at age 3. Barbara Bush died on April 17 at their Houston home. The couple was married for 73 years , longer than any other U.S. presidential couple.

Ceremonies at the presidential library will include a missing man formation flyover. The casket will then be rolled along a path through woods, over a bridge and over a creek for burial during a private graveside service with Bush's family.

See AP's complete coverage of George H.W. Bush here: https://www.apnews.com/GeorgeHWBush </s> HOUSTON — A week of national mourning for "41" concludes Thursday with an invitation-only funeral at former President George H.W. Bush's beloved local church and a private burial service at his presidential library 100 miles northwest of here in College Station.

Eulogies at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church will be delivered by his son, former President George W. Bush, his best friend and former secretary of state, James Baker III, and his grandson and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Then the casket will be loaded onto the Union Pacific Railroad's Presidential Train Car, traveling through Texas cities such as Spring, Magnolia and Navasota to College Station and the campus of Texas A&M University. His final resting place will be on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum alongside his wife and their daughter, Robin, who died from leukemia short of her 4th birthday.

More than 10,000 mourners paid their respects to Bush overnight after his body arrived at the church Wednesday from Washington. The service at Washington National Cathedral drew President Donald Trump and all the living former presidents – Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

Mourners at the Houston funeral ranged from luminary to ordinary. Fawaz “Fuzzy” Hajjar, said he has been serving pizza to the Bushes for 25 years at Fuzzy’s Pizza & Café in West Houston. Bush was a frequent diner at the cafe and often brought VIPs to the small, family-run establishment, from former presidential candidate Mitt Romney to the owners of the Houston Astros and Houston Texans pro sports teams.

Hajjar, in turn, named a pizza after him – the “President Bush Pizza” – that comes covered in pepperoni, Canadian bacon, green peppers, onions, black olives, Italian sausage and artichoke hearts.

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“He’s like for us my friend, my father, my brother. He’s everything for us,” said Hajjar, a native of Syria. “He’s just an amazing man.”

Bill White, the mayor of Houston from 2004 to 2010, called Bush a “proud Houstonian and civic leader.” Bush, who died Friday at age 94, was a fixture at civic and sporting events in his post-presidential years, White said.

But the memory that stands out came when the Democrat ran for mayor.

“He told me he was voting for me because I was good for the city,” said White, who worked for the Clinton campaign in 1992. “He didn’t hold grudges.”

John De La Garza Jr., who worked on Bush’s congressional staff in 1966 and 1967, wore a red tie decorated with military-style bombers and Mr. Rogers socks in honor of the former president. De la Garza his wife Dorothy said Bush and wife Barbara, who died in April, were like parents and served as a “model couple” to the then-newlyweds.

They comforted Dorothy after she had a stillbirth.

"They showed us how to live and how to die," she said.

Karen Liedtke, 70, and her sister Kristy Liedtke, 67, said their parents were good friends and business partners with the Bushes.

“All those years of friendship, you want to be able to say goodbye,” Karen Liedtke said. “He was the greatest of the greatest generation.”

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Bush's body entered St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to the sounds of the U.S. Air Force Band of the West. A parade of emergency vehicles with red and blue lights flashing led the body from Ellington Field to the sprawling red brick church.

St. Martin's, founded in 1952, is now the largest Episcopal church in North America with some 9,000 members. It was also the site of Barbara Bush's funeral in April.

The church towers overs Houston's upscale Tanglewood neighborhood west of downtown. A message on the website of the 66-year-old church reads: "President George H.W. Bush and the late Mrs. Barbara Pierce Bush worshiped at St. Martin’s for more than 50 years, and now it is our turn to show our respect and support as our congregation, as well as our nation, grieve this loss." </s> The military plane carrying former President George H.W. Bush's casket and members of his family landed in Texas just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday as the events commemorating his life and legacy continue.

Bush's remains will be transported to St. Martin's Episcopal Church for the next phase of the ceremony, which will include a second funeral service Thursday in the state where he launched his political career.

During that service, Bush's grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and former Secretary of State James Baker will eulogize the former president.

Following that ceremony, Bush's remains will be transported by funeral train to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The former president will then be laid to rest on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, near his wife, Barbara, and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia in 1953 at age 3.
The body of former President George H. W. Bush arrives on Special Air Mission from Houston to Washington, DC at the Joint Base Andrews.