Reagan's Final Journey To DC

A presidential aircraft bearing the body of Ronald Reagan left California on Wednesday, bearing the former president on his final journey to the nation's capital.

At around 11 a.m. ET the president's casket was loaded onto a hearse, then taken from the Presidential Library in Simi Valley, where more than 100,000 people had viewed it over two days.

The hearse, accompanied by police cars, motorcycles and vehicles bearing the Reagan family, then made its way to Point Mugu Naval Air Station. As the procession passed, CBS News Anchor Dan Rather reports, farmers stopped their tractors and people removed their hats.

Arriving at the air station, the hearse tracked slowly across the tarmac. Pallbearers drew the casket out of the car, and as "Hail to the Chief" was played, Marines artillery regiment fired cannon, in a ceremony that CBS News Correspondent Jerry Bowen reports has been practiced for 10 years.

When the firing stopped, the band struck up "Amazing Grace," and the honor guard, its flags whipped by the wind, led the casket toward a presidential 747, along a path lined by servicemembers bearing rifles. Reagan's casket was loaded into a service vehicle that hoisted it to a cargo door, where an air crew loaded it into the aircraft.

Nancy Reagan, escorted by Gen. Galen Jackman, climbed the steps to the plane, turning and waving at the top. Applause greeted her. The plane then took off for Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
During the arrival in Washington, as the former first lady comes down the stairs from the plane, Reagan's casket will be lowered to the tarmac and carried from under the wing by military pall bearers.

An army band will play "Hail to the Chief" and "My Country 'Tis of Thee" as Mrs. Reagan joins the casket and they move toward the hearse, accompanied by a 21-gun salute.

The scripted ceremony will last but 20 minutes and the hearse carrying his casket will then lead a silent motorcade into downtown Washington, reports CBS News Correspondent Lou Miliano. Onlookers are expected to line the local streets leading to the base and gather on overpasses to watch the motorcade.

Hundreds of extra district police will be on duty. All leave for U.S. Park Police has been cancelled. Sharpshooters will be posted on rooftops. The Department of Homeland Security has designated these three days as a "national special security event."

The body was then to be taken to the Capitol to lie in state until a funeral at the National Cathedral on Friday. It will then be returned to California for burial at the presidential library that evening.

In Britain, Buckingham Palace announced Wednesday that Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair would attend the funeral. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher previously announced that she would attend the service.

Reagan, the nation's 40th chief executive, was 93 when he died Saturday of pneumonia, as a complication of Alzheimer's disease. He announced he had Alzheimer's a decade ago.

His death revealed that the popularity of the former Republican president, California governor and movie actor remained strong despite his long absence from public life.

At the Reagan library, about 106,000 mourners passed by the coffin from noon Monday until the public viewing ended Tuesday night, library officials said. The viewing period was extended for three hours Tuesday due to the overwhelming turnout.

"It's a lifetime event. I wanted to show my gratitude. I wanted to show my love," said Jesse Garcia, 52, who with his wife traveled down from their home in Northern California.

Mourners endured hours-long waits just to drive into a nearby college that was shut down to provide parking. They waited hours more to board shuttle buses to the library, which had to add more buses and extend the period of lying in repose to handle the turnout.

"It is unbelievable what I am seeing on TV," Reagan office chief of staff Joanne Drake quoted Nancy Reagan, as saying Tuesday. "The outpouring of love for my husband is incredible."

Those who paid their respects included Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Governors Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, and celebrities Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxleitner, who arrived as representatives of the Screen Actors Guild, which Reagan once led.

After returning from the G-8 Summit in Georgia on Thursday evening, President Bush and his wife, Laura, planned to call on Mrs. Reagan. She will be staying in the Blair House, the official guest residence across the street from the White House.

Mr. Bush also was expected to go to the Capitol sometime Thursday evening to visit Reagan's casket as it lies in state, White House aides said.