04
Jan
Jan
JIMMY CARTER’S FINAL JOURNEY BEGINS IN GEORGIA
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Nicolas Adekeye / 4 months
- 0
- 2 min read
The six-day state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter began Saturday in south Georgia, where the 39th U.S. president was born and raised. A motorcade with Carter’s flag-draped casket made its way through the streets of Plains, passing by his boyhood home and the historic train depot where he headquartered his presidential campaign. The procession started at the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, where former Secret Service agents who protected the late president served as pallbearers. As the pallbearers turned to face the hearse for a final goodbye, a mournful train whistle filled the air. The Carter family, including his four children, many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, accompanied their patriarch on his final journey. Families lined the procession route, carrying bouquets of flowers and wearing commemorative pins bearing Carter’s photo. “We want to pay our respects,” said 12-year-old Will Porter Shelbrock, who traveled from Gainesville, Florida, with his grandmother to witness the start of Carter’s final journey. “He was ahead of his time on what he tried to do and tried to accomplish.” Shelbrock admired Carter for his humanitarian work, including building houses and waging peace, as well as installing solar panels on the White House. Carter’s remains will proceed to Atlanta for a moment of silence in front of the Georgia Capitol and a ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center, before lying in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. His state funeral is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral. SOURCE: AP News