Planning Prior to his death, Bush filed a 211-page document with the Military District of Washington, which contains a request for an aerial flyover of fighter jets in
missing man formation by the
United States Air Force during his state funeral as well as final interment and burial to occur at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in
College Station, Texas. Bush also indicated that he did not want the presidential fanfare, "
Hail to the Chief", to be performed during final interment and burial. In addition, Bush made plans for a national funeral service to be held at
Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
Security measures The
Department of Homeland Security designated the Washington phase of the state funeral as a
National Special Security Event, as they have done with the state funerals of
Ronald Reagan and
Gerald Ford, as with other major Washington events since
September 11, 2001.
Ceremony The state funeral, as announced, occurred in three stages. Air transport of Bush's remains occurred aboard a
VC-25, tail number 29000, of the United States Air Force's
89th Airlift Wing operating under the call sign "Special Air Mission 41" (SAM41).
Stage One (Houston, Texas) On the morning of December 3, 2018, the casket carrying Bush's remains was moved from Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home in Houston to a waiting hearse which then proceeded along a specially closed stretch of
Interstate 610 to
Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. The hearse was escorted by
Houston Police Department motorcycle outriders and arrived on the runway by approximately 11:45 a.m. Central Standard Time. First Lady Melania Trump, former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush (Bush's eldest son), and Barack Obama were also all in attendance, along with their respective wives, former first ladies
Rosalynn Carter,
Hillary Clinton,
Laura Bush (Bush's daughter-in-law), and
Michelle Obama. Also attending were Vice President
Mike Pence and Second Lady
Karen Pence, former vice presidents Dan Quayle, Al Gore,
Dick Cheney, and
Joe Biden (as
Walter Mondale was absent), along with former second ladies
Marilyn Quayle,
Lynne Cheney, and
Jill Biden (as
Tipper Gore was absent). Presidential children in attendance included
Lynda Bird Johnson Robb with
Chuck Robb,
Luci Baines Johnson with Ian Turpin,
Tricia Nixon Cox with
Edward F. Cox,
Susan Ford,
Chelsea Clinton, former Florida governor
Jeb Bush (Bush's younger son), and
Ivanka Trump with
Jared Kushner. Then-senator
Bill Nelson, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo, political adviser to George W. Bush
Karl Rove, former Homeland Security Secretary
Tom Ridge, Democratic Representatives
John Lewis from Georgia and
Jim Cooper from Tennessee, Republican Representatives
John Culberson from Texas, who represented Bush's old House district, and
Mark Meadows from North Carolina along with many other lawmakers attended as well. Former
Secretaries of States such as
Henry Kissinger,
Madeleine Albright,
Colin Powell,
Condoleezza Rice, and
John Kerry as well as
Prince Charles,
Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel,
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and
Peyton Manning also attended. Musical tributes were provided by the Armed Forces Chorus, the
United States Marine Orchestra,
United States Coast Guard Band,
Michael W. Smith and Ronan Tynan, who sang at Bush's bedside before his death. The coffin was lifted, turned, and borne out of the cathedral to
Ralph Vaughan Williams's 1906 hymn
For All the Saints, Who From Their Labor Rest (Sine nomine) as five U.S. presidents stood in respect. After the service, the Washington Ringing Society rang a half-muffled
quarter peal of
Grandsire Caters to Bush's memory. The hearse carrying Bush arrived at Joint Base Andrews at approximately 2:01 p.m. EST and at 2:09 p.m. EST transferred aboard VC25A 29000 via scissor truck as the Bush family boarded Special Air Mission 41 and took off after 2:26 p.m. EST.
Stage Three (Houston, Texas; Spring, Texas; College Station, Texas) Bush's remains arrived at Ellington Field at December 5, 4:30 p.m.
Central Standard Time where they were greeted by a military escort, transported to
St. Martin's Episcopal Church and laid in repose until the following morning. A second funeral service for family and friends was held at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time on December 6. Eulogies were delivered by President Bush's friend, former Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff James Baker and grandson George P. Bush. Clergy participating in the service included church Rector Dr. Russell Levenson Jr., Bishop of Texas
C. Andrew Doyle, and former Bishop of Texas
Claude E. Payne. During the service,
The Oak Ridge Boys sang "
Amazing Grace" and
Reba McEntire sang "
The Lord's Prayer." After the church service, the remains were driven by hearse to the
Union Pacific Railroad Westfield Auto Facility and transported by special railway funeral car to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum for interment. The funeral train was led by
Union Pacific 4141, an
EMD SD70ACe locomotive painted to honor Bush as the first time the remains of any US president had ever traveled on a funeral train since
Dwight Eisenhower in 1969. A guard of honor formed by the Ross Volunteers, the
Governor of Texas' military escort, attended the removal of the casket from the funeral train. As the casket was removed, the
Fightin' Texas Aggie Band played "Hail to the Chief" followed by the
Aggie War Hymn. During interment, the United States Navy announced it would perform the largest funeral flyover in its history, with what the Navy described as an "unprecedented" 21
F/A-18 Hornets led by Captain Kevin McLaughlin, the commanding officer of
Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic whose own aircraft was painted in a special memorial livery. The flyover was known as the "missing man flyover," and featured 21 aircraft in a unique position as an honor to Bush's Navy pilot service during World War II. The interment ceremony was private; it was not filmed, broadcast on television, or streamed online at the advance request of the Bush family. Only the flyover, as well as the 21-gun salute and the performance of "
Taps" that happened at the library grounds, were shown instead. Bush's remains were buried on the early morning of December 6 between the graves of his wife Barbara and their daughter Robin. Throughout the day, all U.S. military posts equipped with artillery fired 21-gun salutes.
Pallbearers and honorary pallbearers As customary, pallbearers during each movement of the casket containing Bush's remains were drawn from personnel of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard.
Stage 2 honorary pallbearers Sailors drawn from the crew of the United States aircraft carrier served as honorary pallbearers for the removal of the casket from Special Air Mission 41 at Joint Base Andrews. Captain Sean R. Bailey, the ship's commanding officer at the time of Bush's death, was unable to serve as an honorary pallbearer as the vessel was making final preparations for deployment. ==Gallery==