former President jimmy carterHis coffin is being transferred to Washington, DC, on Tuesday for the next phase of his state funeral.
Carter lies in repose in Atlanta as part of a six-day ritual which started on saturday with a service at his childhood home in Plains, Georgia. The Carter Center said Tuesday morning that more than 23,000 people had come to pay tribute to the former president.
“This is a guy from a small town in south Georgia who was a peanut farmer and eventually became president of the United States,” Carter's grandson, Jason Carter, said at the Plains Service on Saturday. “It's a very remarkably American story.”
Carter, the 39th President, Died on 29 December at the age of 100 -Living longer than any president in American history. His loving wife of 77 years, Roslyn died in November 2023,
On Tuesday, Carter's body will be flown from Atlanta to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where his casket will be ceremoniously transferred to a hearse. From there, a convoy will proceed to the US Navy Memorial, where his coffin will be ceremoniously transferred from a hearse to a horse-drawn caisson.
Eric S. laser/ap
The caisson will travel to the U.S. Capitol, where Carter's coffin will be carried up the stairs to the Rotunda by military body bearers. Members of Congress will be able to pay their respects during the service.
Carter will remain in the Capitol Rotunda from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday, when his funeral service will be held at the National Cathedral before his remains are flown back to Georgia. President Biden will deliver the eulogy at Thursday's gathering, along with several others. President-elect Donald Trump said he would attend,
There will be a final private service at Plains, and Carter will be buried next to Rosalynn Carter on her family's peanut farm.
The full schedule of Tuesday's events (all times Eastern):
- 9:30 am: Public darshan ends.
- 11:30 AM: President Carter departs the Carter Presidential Center for the final time with a departure ceremony. The family then travels with the remains to Dobbins Air Reserve Base outside Atlanta.
- 12:10 pm: Arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base for the departure ceremony.
- 12:45 pm: The family and President Carter's remains will depart for Washington aboard Special Air Mission 39.
- 2:15 pm: Special Air Mission 39 arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where President Carter's remains would be ceremoniously transferred to a hearse.
- 2:45 pm: The family and President Carter's remains will then proceed by motorcade to the U.S. Navy Memorial.
- 3:30 pm: The remains are transferred from the hearse to a horse-drawn caisson for the procession to the U.S. Capitol. Military body bearers will carry the coffin into the Capitol Rotunda.
- 4:30 pm: Members of Congress will pay tribute to him during a service in the Rotunda.
- 7pm-Midnight: President Carter will lie in state while the Army holds a guard of honor. The public is invited to pay their respects during these hours.