Nancy Reagan touched her cheek to the flag-covered casket, then made way for people by the thousands to pay respects to former US president Ronald Reagan before a cross-country journey to a state funeral in Washington.
A steady, near-silent stream of people -- some saluting, some praying -- on Monday circled through the rotunda of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where the body of the nation's 40th president was to lie in repose until yesterday before traveling to Washington. After Friday's state funeral, the body will return to California for a hilltop burial service at sunset.
PHOTO: REUTERS
A Marine Corps band played "Hail to the Chief" as eight armed forces members carried the casket into the presidential library past a 3m-tall sculpture titled After the Ride depicting Reagan as a smiling cowboy with a Stetson in his hand.
The journey began at a Santa Monica funeral home, where the mahogany casket was placed aboard a hearse for a 65km drive to the library in Simi Valley.
Clusters of people watched from overpasses and roadsides as the motorcade headed north, then west on the Ronald Reagan Freeway, its path cleared by motorcycle officers. One banner hung along the route declared, "God bless you Ronald & Nancy." Another proclaimed, "God bless the Gipper."
Flags at half-staff fluttered under an overcast sky as the casket was carried into the library rotunda before a brief family service.
"As we were in procession, I couldn't help but think of the love and the outpouring that has begun in the nation for a great president, a great world leader and a faithful servant of almighty God," said the Reverend Michael Wenning, retired senior pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian Church, where Reagan had worshipped.
When the service ended, Nancy. Reagan, dressed in a black suit and pearls, walked to the casket, placing her left cheek against the flag's field of stars. Her daughter, Patti Davis, hugged her tightly and other family members joined them, placing hands on the casket.
Soon after the family departed, the first of many chartered buses arrived, bringing members of the public who had been waiting -- in some cases for hours -- for a chance to pay respects to Reagan, who died on Saturday after a 10-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
More than 16,000 people had passed by the casket since noon, said Melissa Giller, chief of staff for the library foundation. The library had prepared for 2,000 visitors per hour for 30 hours. Twenty-seven buses shuttled mourners about 8km from a college, which was shut down to provide parking.
Mourners stood quietly in line as they waited to enter the library, then moved rapidly past the casket flanked by an honor guard representing all branches of the military. Some people carried carnations or tiny US flags; dress ranged from dark suits and ties to Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses.
Others attending the service at the library included Reagan's son, Michael, and his family; Dennis Revell, husband of Reagan's late daughter Maureen; and Merv Griffin, the veteran entertainer and family friend.
The former president's body is to be flown today to Washington, DC. Following a ceremony tonight in the Capitol Rotunda, the body will lie in state there.
Friday will be a national day of mourning. The state funeral will be held at Washington National Cathedral; US President George W. Bush will deliver a eulogy and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will be among the mourners.
The body will then be returned to Reagan's library in Simi Valley for a private burial service on Friday evening. Reagan will be buried in a crypt beneath a memorial site at the library 75km north of Los Angeles.
Praise for Reagan, and condolences to his family, streamed in from across the world. In a jarring contrast, a Cuban government radio station assailed Reagan's policies and said he "never should have been born."
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