President Bush snr remembered: Washington readies for memorial events

With a misty US Capitol in the distance, the American flags surrounding the Washington Monument fly at half-staff, in Washington. Photo / AP

The casket bearing the late US President George H.W. Bush will arrive at the US Capitol on Tuesday NZT and will be on public display as he lies in state in the Rotunda until Thursday, congressional leaders said.

The announcement came as plans for the pageantry of a state funeral for the 41st president were set in motion, with the capital city and nation preparing to honour Bush through events in Texas and Washington.

Since 1969, a joint task force of nearly 4000 military and civilian personnel in the capital region has coordinated the apparatus involved in several days of carefully observed tradition, protocols and ceremony for the public memorial to an American head of state.

"We, the men and women of the Department of Defence, are honoured and proud to support the Bush family and will do so with the utmost respect," Major General Michael Howard of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region said in a statement.

"This state funeral is a culmination of years of planning and rehearsal to ensure the support the military renders President Bush is nothing less than a first-class tribute."

The last state funeral occurred 11 years ago, when Gerald Ford, the 38th president, was laid in state at the Capitol in 2007.

Members of Congress will pay their respects in a bicameral arrival ceremony starting on Tuesday. Then the general public will be allowed to do the same.

A spokesman for the Bush family, Jim McGrath, said on Twitter that funeral information would be posted on a website established to pay tribute to the 41st president, www.georgehwbush.com. Bush died yesterday.

By tradition, presidential families are able to personalise the event in many ways, choosing the sequence and location of observances, which can include a full military parade along Constitution Avenue and other details such as a horse-drawn caisson to transport a late president's casket from Washington National Cathedral to lie in state at the US Capitol.

President Donald Trump is declaring Thursday a national day of mourning and ordering flags on all public buildings to be lowered to half-staff for the next 30 days.

Preparations began in Bush's home state of Texas, where his children had gathered - including former President George W. Bush, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Bush's remains are expected to be flown from Texas to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. US Capitol Police, DC police, the National Park Service and other local authorities reported that they were on standby as they awaited direction from the military about their roles in the ceremonies and how the events may impact the region.

From the time he entered the Navy at age 18, #Bush41 kept a diary that he continued for the next 57 years. We’ll be releasing a video series with excerpts from his diary and letters based on his book “All the Best.” This reflection on aging is from September 1998. #Remembering41 pic.twitter.com/l23A5dv0qo

— George & Barbara Bush Foundation (@BushFdn) December 1, 2018