John McCain is on his way to Washington, D.C. one last time, where he will lie in state before his national funeral on Saturday. But today many of his longtime Arizona friends and constituents said their final goodbyes.
At a memorial service in Phoenix there was laughter and tears as his longtime friends, led by former Vice President Joe Biden, recalled the stories that made McCain who he was.
“My name is Joe Biden. I’m a Democrat. And I love John McCain,” Biden said. He wiped away tears as he remembered their time together in the Senate. “This one’s hard.”
Biden’s tribute paid homage to McCain’s place in the world and idolized his ideas and image of America.
“John’s story is the American story,” Biden said.
His speech was peppered with his folksy talk and his voice rose when he spoke passionately about the current political climate, seeming to take a shot at President Donald Trump, who McCain banned from attending his funeral service.
McCain hated those who “lacked the basic values of decency and respect, knowing this project is bigger than yourself,” Biden said forcefully.
“He could not stand the abuse of power, wherever he saw it” he added.
“John McCain’s impact on America is not over,” he noted. “Not even close.”
He concluded with: “To paraphrase Shakespeare: We shall not see his like again.”
Over 1,000 mourners, including members of the general public, were on hand to remember McCain.
An honor guard made of representatives from the various service branches – Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force – carried McCain’s casket into the church.
Grant Woods, former Arizona attorney general and chief of staff to McCain offered a series of tales that showed the lighter side of McCain, leaving the congregation laughing as he described McCain’s driving style and funny stories from the campaign trail.
It was “a lot of fun, “Woods said, and “the greatest honor of my life.”
“He was America’s hero,” he said. “He fought the good fight, he finished the race, he kept the faith.”
“Sleep in heavenly peace,” he concluded.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald paid tribute to McCain’s war record and recalled his love for family.
“Many people might wonder what a young African American kid from Minnesota and a highly-decorated Vietnam war hero turned United States senator might have in common. I’m black, he was white. I’m young, he wasn’t so young. He lived with physical limitations brought on by war. I’m a professional athlete. He ran for president, I run out of bounds,” he said. “I have flowing locks, and, well he didn’t.”
He concluded: “Rest in peace my friend.”
