Window on Washington
News, analysis, color and photography from Cox Newspapers' Washington BureauRSS feed
What's on this page →
All the entries posted on December 27, 2006.
Categories
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS |
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F
Recent entries
Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2006 > December > 27
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Bush Announces Ford’s Death
Here’s the formal announcement issued today by The White House:
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES:
It is my sad duty to announce officially the death of Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, on December 26, 2006.
President Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his life to serving the United States of America. He was also a true gentleman who reflected the best in America’s character. Before the world knew his name, he served with distinction in the United States Navy and the United States House of Representatives. As a congressman from Michigan, and then as Vice President, he commanded the respect and earned the goodwill of all who had the privilege of knowing him. On August 9, 1974, he stepped into the presidency without having ever sought the office.
During his time in office, the American people came to know President Ford as a man of complete integrity, who led our country with common sense and kind instincts. Americans will always admire Gerald Ford’s unflinching performance of duty, the honorable conduct of his Administration, and the great rectitude of the man himself. We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our thirty-eighth President will always have a special place in our Nation’s memory.
President Ford lived 93 years, and his life was a blessing to America. Now this fine man will be taken to his rest by a family that will love him always and by a Nation that will be grateful to him forever.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, in honor and tribute to the memory of Gerald R. Ford, and as an expression of public sorrow, do hereby direct that the flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff at the White House and on all buildings, grounds, and Naval vessels of the United States for a period of 30 days from the day of his death. I also direct that for the same length of time, the representatives of the United States in foreign countries shall make similar arrangements for the display of the flag at half-staff over their Embassies, Legations, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and stations.
I hereby order that suitable honors be rendered by units of the Armed Forces under orders of the Secretary of Defense.
In a further expression of our national grief, I will appoint in a subsequent proclamation a National Day of Mourning throughout the United States when the American people may assemble in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President Ford.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty*seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.
Permalink | |
Presidential Funerals
The death of Gerald Ford will give the nation another look at the uniqueness of presidential funerals. (The photo above shows the procession for President Reagan in June 2004.)
Coincidentally, it’s a topic the White House Historical Association dealt with in the current issue of its publication, “White House History.” It’s all about presidential horses and includes details about equine participation in presidential funerals.
“Though presidential personalities and policies can generate deep chasms during their term of service, the death of a president evokes a genuine sadness that transcends partisan politics,” Claire A. Faulkner, who works in the Usher’s Office at the White House, wrote. “Rarely are Americans as united in emotion and sensibility as at such a time.”
Some tidbits gleaned from Ms. Faulkner’s article: The official government name for pall bearers is “body bearers.” The official name for a rifle honor corps is “firing party.” On the day after the death of a president or ex-president, a gun is fired every half hour at Army installations from reveille to retreat. On the day of burial, those installations fire a 21-gun salute at noon and a 50-gun salute (one per state) at five-second intervals following the lowering of the flag.
The Army’s Military District of Washington has prime responsibility for presidential funerals, but ex-presidents and their families are involved in the planning.
“Like most men my age, I have given a thought or two to my funeral,” Ford said in a November 2005 eulogy for presidential historian Hugh Sidey. “As a former president, I’m almost required to since the military periodically updates its own plans and each presidential family is solicited for personal touches.”
The White House Historical Association’s web posting about horses and funerals is here
Permalink | |