WATCH: McCain honored in memorial service in D.C ahead of funeral
Obama and Bush, a Democrat and a Republican, were joined by a who's who of US political leaders, Vietnam-era officials and dignitaries paying tribute to the statesman.
By REUTERSUpdated: SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 15:23McCain honored with Vietnam War heroes / Reuters
WASHINGTON - Former US presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush prepared on Saturday to honor the late John McCain, the longtime senator from Arizona and Vietnam war hero whose bids for the White House were dashed by the two men.McCain's body, which had lain in state at the US Capitol, arrived at the Washington National Cathedral after his procession first stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where his wife, Cindy McCain, laid a wreath to honor those who died in the war.Eliana Duy, 8, FL, stands in front of the wreath that U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, General John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff and Cindy McCain, wife of late Senator John McCain, lay a ceremonial wreath honoring all whose lives were lost during the Vietnam War at at the Vietnam Veteran / ARY F. CALVERT / REUTERS Obama and Bush, a Democrat and a Republican, were joined by a who's who of US political leaders, Vietnam-era officials and dignitaries paying tribute to the statesman and former prisoner of war, who died Aug. 25 of brain cancer, days shy of his 82nd birthday..President Donald Trump, who feuded publicly with McCain and criticized his war record, did not attend. Members of his administration, including his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and national security adviser John Bolton were present.McCain's family had made clear that Trump was not welcome at memorial services in Arizona and Washington or at Sunday's private burial service in Annapolis, Maryland, at the US Naval Academy. McCain was a member of the Academy's Class of 1958.Trump spent the morning sending tweets about other subjects.Inside the cathedral luminaries including comedian Jay Leno, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Senator Bob Dole and others visited with other leaders while a powerful pipe organ played music in the background.Members of the McCain family watch as a military honor guard team carries the casket of the late-Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) from the U.S. Capitol September 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. The late senator died August 25 at the age of 81 after a long battle with brain cancer. Sen. McCain will be buried at his final resting place at the U.S. Naval Academy on Sunday. / ReutersMcCain was a leading voice for revamping the country's immigration, campaign finance and environmental laws. But it was his military service, punctuated by years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, that molded McCain's political life.
McCain, who rose to the rank of captain in the US Navy, was shot down over Hanoi while on a bombing mission in 1967.Held as a prisoner until 1973, McCain was tortured by his North Vietnamese captors in a jail that Americans dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton."
