Sen. Inouye to lie in state in U.S. Capitol Rotunda, be buried at Punchbowl
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Memorial services for the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye will be held in both Washington D.C. and Hawaii, beginning on Thursday.
Sen. Inouye's body will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda beginning on Thursday, a rare honor usually reserved for presidents and historical figures. His casket will arrive at 9:50 a.m. (4:50 a.m. Hawaii time). Following his arrival, a service will be held in the rotunda beginning at 10 a.m. (5 a.m. Hawaii time), with remarks from Congressional leaders preceding the laying of wreaths.
Following the service, there will be a viewing in the rotunda from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. (7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hawaii Time) This viewing will be open to all members of the public.
Sen. Inouye's casket will be guarded at each of its four corners by servicemen from each of the branches of the armed forces for its duration at the Capitol.
31 people have lain in state in the rotunda, including Presidents Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
The last person to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda was President Gerald Ford in 2007.
On Friday, Senator Inouye will depart the rotunda and be escorted to the Washington National Cathedral, where President Barack Obama will be among those attending a public memorial service scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. Hawaii time).
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of Washington, will preside over the service, while retired Rear Admiral Barry C. Black, the Senate chaplain, is scheduled to deliver the sermon. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Hon. Eric Shinseki, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, will speak during the memorial, which House Speaker John Boehner will also attend.
Following the service, Inouye's body will be flown to Honolulu, where he will lie in state at the State Capitol on Saturday evening. Gov. Neil Abercrombie's spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy says public viewing will begin at 5 p.m. and end at midnight.
The final memorial service for Inouye will be an open-to-the-public service held on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
The Medal of Honor recipient and 50-year veteran of the Senate died Monday of respiratory complications at a Washington-area hospital. He was the second longest serving senator and served as President pro tempore of the Senate, third in the line presidential succession.
Related link: Inouye given rare honor as final tribute in nation's capitol
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