*EPF315 06/09/2004
Memorializing U.S. Presidents
(History of State Funerals) (710)

By Darlisa Crawford
Washington File Staff Writer

A state funeral for Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, is scheduled in Washington, DC for June 11, the first presidential state funeral in more than three decades. According to U.S. law, former presidents, presidents-elect, and presidents are entitled to state funerals with the formal honor of lying in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, the seat of the Congress. Funeral details vary according to the wishes of the families.

History

In 1791 Benjamin Franklin's death resulted in the first national mourning for a prominent American statesman. The second instance of national mourning occurred eight years later in 1799 when the first U.S. president, George Washington, died. In the ensuing funeral with full military honors, Washington's remains were deposited in the family vault at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

The first state presidential funeral was for William Henry Harrison, who died in 1841 shortly after taking office, but it was not until the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 that the United States experienced a nationwide period of mourning, made possible by advances in communications technologies -- train and telegraph. Lincoln was the first U.S. president to lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. To date, seven presidents have been honored by having their remains lie in state in the Rotunda with a ceremonial honor guard to attend them, the latest being President Reagan.

Funeral arrangements

A ceremonial funeral procession, composed of National Guard, active-duty, academy and reserve personnel that represent the five branches of the armed forces, is a traditional component of a state funeral observance. Funeral processions in the nation's capital along Pennsylvania Avenue have honored seven presidents, including the four who have died by assassination: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.

The Military District of Washington commander arranges the ceremonial preparations and for the funeral supervises the procession to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The Secretary of Defense conducts the funeral proceedings. A special ceremonial unit, known as the Armed Forces Honor Guard, has participated in past state funerals for former presidents Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman (in Missouri), Johnson and Nixon (in California). The Vietnam Unknown received a state funeral in 1984.

Military involvement

As a past commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, a former president receives numerous military honors such as a military escort for the former president's family during all funeral ceremonies. The commanding general for the U.S. Army District of Washington assumes the responsibilities of organizing and managing the state funeral, and appoints an Armed Forces team to provide security for the presidential remains, whether they be lying in state or in a church or other location. Many state funerals include Armed Forces pallbearers, a 21-gun salute, a military chaplain for the immediate family, and a flag draped on the casket as a veteran's honor.

In addition, the Old Guard Caisson Platoon of the Military District of Washington's 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment will carry the remains in a converted transport wagon of a 75 mm cannon, drawn by six horses of the same color, three riders and a section chief mounted on a separate horse. Following the caisson, a caparisoned (riderless) horse carries a pair of reversed boots in the stirrups of the empty saddle to "symbolize that the warrior will never ride again."

A military band provides traditional music during each phase of the state funeral. Firing three volleys over the grave by seven service members originates in the military custom of suspending the fighting to remove the dead from the battlefield as three rifle volleys signaled that the fighting could resume. Another military tradition dictates that the national flag will be flown at half-staff for thirty days from the date of death. Burial in Arlington National Cemetery is an honor bestowed upon two former U.S. presidents, John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft. Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on November 25, 1963. Subsequently, his remains were moved from the original gravesite to one just a few feet away on March 14, 1967. Former President Ronald Reagan will be interred at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, located in Simi Valley, California on June 11, 2004.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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