Capital bids farewell to Reagan

WASHINGTON -- Ronald Reagan lay in state Wednesday under the Capitol dome, his body borne to that historic place of tribute by horse-drawn carriage past thousands drawn to the high pageantry of America's first presidential state funeral in three decades.

With the storied riderless horse symbolizing the fallen president, Reagan's casket came to the Capitol in a procession that quietly riveted crowds standing 15 deep on each side of Constitution Avenue. Cannon fired upon his body's arrival at the home of Congress, sending smoke cascading into the steamy evening air.

"Fellow Americans, here lies a graceful and a gallant man," said Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking at the state funeral ceremony opening the 34-hour period of Reagan's lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. "It was the vision and the will of Ronald Reagan that gave hope to the oppressed, shamed the oppressors and ended the evil empire."

In her husband's death as in his life, Nancy Reagan was beside him at every step. She acknowledged cheers at the head of the procession, waving repeatedly, looking wan.

"God bless you, Nancy," a man cried out.

When her husband's flag-draped casket reached the Capitol, she saluted it. When it reached the landing, she reached out and touched it. She gazed at it, as she had been known so long for gazing at him in life.

In the Rotunda, she approached the casket again and lingered, patting and stroking the top, finally turning away. Members of Congress and other high officials in the room put their hands on their hearts as Reagan's body passed by.

Finally the dark suits of dignitaries gave way to the shorts and tank tops of average Americans, who had lined up for hours for a public viewing that goes on continuously until Friday morning.

Reagan's body was flown from California to close the first chapter in a slowly unfolding week of remembrance. In California, more than 100,000 people had paid respects to Reagan in his presidential hilltop library.

Reagan's funeral procession was formed within view of the White House. Following a long tradition, rarely seen, the body of the former president, who was an avid horseman, was carried on a black caisson drawn by six horses. The artillery carriage was built in 1918 to carry provisions and ammunition.

Behind that trailed Sgt. York, the horse with an empty saddle and Reagan's own riding boots reversed in the stirrups to symbolize a warrior who will ride no more and looks back a final time on his troops. Sgt. York stepped lively, tossing his head and appearing a bit spooked on occasion.

Overhead -- only 1,000 feet overhead -- 21 fighter jets screamed by in four formations, a wingman breaking away and rocketing upward to signify the loss of a comrade.

By early evening, 100 people on the National Mall had been treated for heat-related illnesses, said Alan Etter, speaking for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. U.S. Capitol Police trucked in about 150,000 of bottles of water and turned on large fans for people waiting in line to view Reagan's casket.

In the service opening the period of lying in state, Senate President Pro Tem Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, noted a tradition dating to 1824 of paying final tribute to public servants in the Rotunda.

"President Abraham Lincoln was the first president to lie in state under this Capitol dome," he said. "In the coming days, thousands will come to these hallowed halls to say goodbye to another son of Illinois who, like Lincoln, appealed to our best hopes, not our worst fears."

To Carol Williams of Chesterfield, Va., all the fanfare was for a common man.

"They didn't live in Camelot, they lived in reality with the rest of us," said Williams, a college professor who came before dawn and took first place in line for the night's public viewing.