Political News

Timeline: Bush memorial events

Former President George H.W. Bush is set for a final visit to Washington ahead of his burial in Texas later this week, with memorial services planned in both locations as part of a series of coordinated funeral proceedings.

Posted Updated

By
Eli Watkins
, CNN
(CNN) — Former President George H.W. Bush is set for a final visit to Washington ahead of his burial in Texas later this week, with memorial services planned in both locations as part of a series of coordinated funeral proceedings.

Here is a timeline of the process:

Friday, November 30

Bush died in Houston at age 94, according to his son, former President George W. Bush.

Saturday, December 1

President Donald Trump proclaimed Wednesday a national day of mourning, and the White House said both he and first lady Melania Trump would attend the service in Washington.The official schedule of memorial services for the former President was released.

Sunday, December 2

Jim McGrath, the late President's spokesman, announced the presidential plane dubbed "Special Mission 41" had arrived in Houston to transport Bush's body to Washington.

Monday, December 3

Around 9:30 a.m. CT, Bush's flag-draped coffin could be seen leaving a Texas funeral home, where it was scheduled to leave Texas from Ellington Field in Houston. McGrath said members of the Secret Service Bush Protective Division would serve as honorary pallbearers for the first movement. Members of the Bush family gathered at the airfield later Monday morning ahead of the departure of "Special Mission 41."The official schedule said Bush would arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Monday afternoon, where arrival ceremonies would take place at Andrews at 3:30 p.m. ET and the US Capitol at 4:45 p.m. ET.Congressional leadership announced over the weekend that Bush's body would lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda from Monday through Wednesday, with the public invited to pay respects from Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET to Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. ET.

Wednesday, December 5

As Trump announced in a proclamation over the weekend, Wednesday is a national day of mourning in honor of Bush. Along with it, per an executive order he issued, the federal government will close on Wednesday. A memorandum from the Office of Personnel Management on Sunday outlined how federal agencies would implement the holiday.A departure ceremony is scheduled at the Capitol for 10:00 a.m. ET, where Bush will then be taken to the National Cathedral in Washington for a memorial service. Friends, family and former presidents have said they will attend the service, which CNN reported on Monday will feature eulogies from Bush's son George W. Bush, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, former Wyoming GOP Sen. Alan Simpson and Bush's biographer Jon Meacham. A departure ceremony at the cathedral is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET, and another at Joint Base Andrews is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET before Bush's body is flown back to Texas.Bush's body is set to arrive at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, by Wednesday evening, where it will lie in repose from 6:45 p.m. Wednesday to 6:00 a.m. central time the following day.

Thursday, December 6

After Bush's body lies in repose overnight at the Houston church, a funeral service is scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 a.m. CT. CNN reported on Monday that Bush's grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and his close friend, former Secretary of State James Baker, will deliver eulogies at the service on Thursday. On Thursday afternoon, Bush's body is scheduled to arrive at Texas A&M Univeristy, and the arrival and internment at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, are scheduled for 4:15 p.m. CT.Bush will be laid to rest at the library, where both former first lady Barbara Bush and their late daughter Rose are buried.

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