John McCain to be buried in private ceremony at US Naval Academy

The late Sen. John McCain will be buried Sunday in a private ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, bringing to a close five days of events honoring the late Arizona Republican.

McCain, who died Aug. 25 of brain cancer at age 81, was the son and grandson of four-star admirals and a 1958 graduate of the Naval Academy. He endured more than five years of torture and imprisonment as a POW in Vietnam.

The private memorial service will be attended by McCain’s family, close friends, former classmates and military leaders. Among the expected speakers are longtime friend Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), retired Army general and former CIA director David H. Petraeus, and the senator’s son Jack McCain.

After the ceremony, McCain will be laid to rest next to his Naval Academy classmate and friend Adm. Charles R. Larson.

On Saturday, official Washington — with the notable exception of President Trump — gathered at Washington National Cathedral for a memorial service that featured tributes by such speakers as former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

McCain’s legacy of bipartisanship and the deterioration of civility under Trump were themes mentioned by many of those who eulogized him, with some of the sharpest words aimed at the president coming from the senator’s daughter Meghan McCain.

In an appearance Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union,” former senator Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate, said the burial service is “going to be hard, because it’s the last farewell.”

“Religiously, I feel their body is there, but their soul is on to the next world,” said Lieberman, who also eulogized McCain on Saturday. “But I’m left with incredible memories. I say goodbye, but I’ll thank God I knew a man like John McCain.”

Graham also recounted his memories of McCain during an appearance on the show. He told host Dana Bash that the main takeaway from the past week and from McCain’s life is service to a cause greater than oneself.

“If you’re thinking of public service, pick a cause worthy of a good fight, and, above all else, when you make a mistake, admit it,” Graham said.

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