Nation Mourns Former President Jimmy Carter: A Week of Remembrance
A six-day period of national mourning commenced as a solemn motorcade carried the body of former President Jimmy Carter through his hometown of Plains, Georgia, past crowds of flag-waving mourners. The 39th president, who passed away last month at the age of 100, embarked on his final journey home, a poignant tribute to a life dedicated to service.
Following a service in Atlanta, President Carter will lie in repose, allowing the public to pay their respects. This will be followed by a period of lying in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington,D.C. on Tuesday.
Flags across the nation have flown at half-mast since Carter’s passing on December 29th. The state funeral began with Secret Service agents escorting his casket to a hearse for a moving procession through Plains. The motorcade will pause at his childhood family peanut farm, where a farm bell will toll 39 times in his honor.
The procession will continue to Atlanta for a brief stop at the Georgia Capitol,followed by a moment of silence. From there, Carter’s remains will be taken to the Carter Presidential Center, where the public can pay their respects from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, Carter’s remains will be flown from a Georgia military base to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., aboard a U.S. Air Force plane designated Special Air Mission 39.A motorcade will then transport him to the U.S. Navy Memorial. Given his service at the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946, and his time serving on submarines, his casket will be transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for a procession to the U.S.Capitol.
Military pallbearers will carry his flag-draped casket to the Capitol rotunda, where he will lie in state until 7 a.m. on Thursday, surrounded by an honor guard. He will be the 13th former president to lie in state,following in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln,the frist.
A national funeral service will be held thursday at the National Cathedral,a venue that has hosted state funerals for several former presidents,including Dwight D. eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush. All four living former presidents—Bill Clinton, george W. Bush, Barack Obama, and donald Trump—are expected to attend.
president Joe Biden will deliver the eulogy for his fellow Democrat. President Biden has declared Thursday a national day of mourning, with federal government offices closed. He also ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for 30 days, a tradition that will extend into the inauguration of President-elect Trump.
This decision drew criticism from the President-elect, who, according to reports, stated on Truth Social, “no American can be happy” about flags at half-mast during his inauguration.
Following the cathedral service,Carter’s remains will be returned to Georgia for a private funeral service at the Plains baptist Church,where he taught Sunday school. A final motorcade through his hometown will precede his burial alongside his wife, Rosalynn, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 96. A U.S. Navy flyover will honor his legacy.
