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Reagan laid to rest as US ends week of mourning Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan's remains were entombed, ending a week of commemorative ceremonies that included a solemn funeral in the nation's capital and a sunset service in California attended by family, dignitaries and a constellation of Hollywood stars.
"Ronald Reagan always told us that for America, our best was yet to come," Bush said.
"We know that is true for him, too. His work is done. And now a 'shining city' awaits him," Bush said, referring to Reagan's contention that the United States held a special place in the world, as "a shining city upon a hill."
Bush spoke one day after Reagan's official funeral in Washington, at which Bush spoke, and a private service at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Reagan was buried early Saturday in an underground tomb he chose for himself on the library grounds, with no ceremony and no family, dignitaries or members of the press present, library officials said.
After a moving sunset service Friday, his coffin had been left on a catafalque to allow the 700 invited guests to pay their respects.
The ceremony, held on a hilltop overlooking the Simi Valley and the Pacific Ocean, capped six days of mourning following Reagan's death on June 5 at the age of 93, after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Earlier Friday, Bush and his father, former president George Bush, as well as former British and Canadian prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney, had all paid their own tributes to Reagan at a regal service at Washington National Cathedral in the US capital.
Thatcher, an ally and friend as prime minister of Britain in the 1980s, said: "He won the Cold War -- not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends."
Indeed, at the cathedral, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sat next to Thatcher, who, weakened by a series of strokes, delivered her tribute in a pre-recorded videotape.
The remains of the 40th president of the United States had lain in state for 36 hours from Wednesday evening in the US Capitol, visited by more than 104,000 people.
In his eulogy, the elder Bush choked back tears as he remembered Reagan, under whom he had served as vice president.
"Ronald Reagan was beloved because of what he believed. He believed in America, so he made it his shining city on a hill," he said.
Friday was a national day of mourning. All but essential government departments were closed, along with financial markets.
Among those in attendance were Britain's Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
All four surviving former US presidents also attended: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and the elder Bush.
After the service, the coffin was flown to California's Point Mugu naval air base. It was driven 24 kilometers (15 miles) to the library at Simi Valley along a route lined by thousands of well-wishers seeking a last glimpse of the man who served as governor of the state from 1967-1975. More than 700 guests heard Reagan's three surviving children, Michael, Patti and Ron, eulogize their father. A final 21-gun salute echoed across the valley, a lone bugler played the funerary "Taps" and four US Navy F-18 planes flew overhead -- with one peeling off in the "missing man" maneuver. The flag that had covered the president's casket for the past five days on its roundtrip, coast-to-coast journey was folded by military pallbearers before being placed in the hands of Nancy Reagan by Captain James Symonds, commander of the USS Ronald Reagan. Guests at the sunset ceremony included actor Charlton Heston, also an Alzheimer's sufferer, film star Kirk Douglas, actor Tom Selleck, hockey star Wayne Gretzky, Bob Hope's widow, Dolores, and singer Frank Sinatra's children Frank, Tina and Nancy. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- like Reagan, a movie star who became California governor -- also attended, along with his wife, Maria Shriver, movie star Bo Derek, television producer Norman Lear, biographer Lou Cannon, entertainer Merv Griffin and crooner Johnny Mathis. |
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