By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-07 23:16:47 | Updated at 2025-01-08 19:04:47
19 hours ago
The body of late US president Jimmy Carter was transferred on Tuesday in a grand and solemn military ceremony to the US Capitol, where it will lie in state until a national funeral later this week.
Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, served a single term from 1977-1981 and was widely praised for his post-presidential humanitarian efforts, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
His body arrived at the snow-covered US Capitol, where it will remain until Thursday, after a full day of ceremonious travel that began in his native Georgia.
Having been flown to Washington aboard a presidential US Air Force plane, his flag-draped casket was carried atop a gun carriage in a funeral procession from the US Navy Memorial – an ode to his military service on submarines – to Capitol Hill, tracing the opposite route he took during his inauguration parade.
Hundreds of US service members accompanied the procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, which was cleared of snow from a recent winter storm that has prompted federal office and school closures in the area.
Military pallbearers then carried his casket up to the Capitol Rotunda where a short service was held. It was attended by Carter’s family, members of Congress and other dignitaries including Chief Justice John Roberts and US Vice-President Kamala Harris.
