Sen. John McCain honored at church memorial service in Arizona
The casket of US Senator John McCain leaves the Arizona State Capitol on August 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)
PHOENIX -- Arizonans lined the streets and mourners gathered at a church Thursday as a motorcade carrying Sen. John McCain's body left the state Capitol for a second day of memorial services for the maverick politician, former prisoner of war and two-time presidential candidate.
People holding American flags and campaign signs with the word "McCain" stood along parts of the 8-mile route as the hearse made its way toward the North Phoenix Baptist Church for a commemoration featuring Vice President Joe Biden and other dignitaries.
Arizona Highway Patrol motorcycle troopers and vehicles with family members accompanied the hearse as it left the Capitol, where thousands filed past McCain's flag-draped casket into Wednesday evening.
A few firefighters saluted from atop a fire engine parked on an overpass as the motorcade passed underneath on Interstate 17. Cars on the other side of the highway stopped or slowed to a crawl in apparent tribute.
During Wednesday's private service at the Capitol for family and friends, Cindy McCain pressed her face against her husband's coffin, and daughter Meghan McCain erupted in sobs.
McCain sons Doug, Jack and Jimmy, daughter Sidney and daughter-in-law Renee shook hands with some of those who paid their final respects.
McCain died last Saturday of brain cancer at 81.
About 1,000 seats for the church service were made available to members of the public who signed up. Black-clad mourners entered the building for the Thursday service.
Outside the church, honor guard member Valentine Costalez praised McCain for championing the military during his Senate career.
"He's done so much for us," said Costalez, who stood watch earlier this week while McCain's body was at a funeral home.
At the church, a choir from the Jesuit-run Brophy College Preparatory school that two of McCain's sons attended was scheduled to sing "Amazing Grace" and "Arizona."
The music chosen for the recession was Frank Sinatra's signature song, "My Way," paying tribute to a man who became known for following his own path based on his personal principles.
The much smaller service at the Capitol was filled with affecting moments and demonstrations of deep respect for the statesman and Navy pilot who was held prisoner by the North Vietnamese for 5½ years after being shot down over Hanoi.
Gov. Doug Ducey remembered McCain as "Arizona's favorite adopted son" on what would have been his 82nd birthday.
The Capitol was then opened to the public in the afternoon, allowing visitors to walk past the closed casket after waiting in line outside in temperatures that reached 104 degrees (40 Celsius).
Inside, former military members in shorts and T-shirts saluted. Others placed their hand over their heart or bowed, including Vietnamese-born residents who traveled from Southern California.
Ray Riordan, an 87-year-old Navy veteran who fought in the Korean War, came from Payson, Arizona.
"I grew up where a handshake was a contract and your word was your bond," Riordan said. "He represented the last of that as far as I'm concerned."
The McCain family said about 15,000 people in all came to pay their respects at the Capitol.
After Thursday's church service, a military aircraft was scheduled to take McCain's body back east for a lying-in-state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, a service at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, and burial at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.