A series of services and ceremonies honoring the life of Arizona Senator John McCain will kick off Wednesday in Phoenix.
McCain died Saturday at his family’s ranch near Sedona after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer for over a year. Wednesday would have been McCain’s 82nd birthday.
Over the course of five days, McCain’s body will travel from the Arizona Capitol to Washington, D.C., to Annapolis, Maryland, where he will be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Wednesday: McCain Lies in State at Arizona Capitol
McCain’s body will lie in state for 24 hours at the old Arizona State Capitol building. There will be a public viewing.
"John McCain is Arizona," Ducey wrote in a tweet, "and we will honor his life every way we can."
A private ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday inside the rotunda. The date would've been Sen. McCain's 82nd birthday. In attendance will be the McCain family, Gov. Ducey, former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl and current Sen. Jeff Flake.
Then the public will be able to pay their respects to McCain starting at 2 p.m. A spokesperson for the McCain family said as long as there are people in line to pay their respects to Sen. McCain, the Capitol will remain open.
Only two other people have had the same honor in the last 40 years. Arizona State Senator Marilyn Jarrett lied in state in 2006 and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens in 1980.
Thursday: Service at North Phoenix Baptist Church
On Thursday at approximately 9:15 a.m., a motorcade will travel from the Arizona Capitol to North Phoenix Baptist Church at Central Avenue and Bethany Home Road. The motorcade will travel along W Van Buren Street and N Central Avenue.
The memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. Sen. McCain's daughter, Bridget, and son, Andy, will be conducting readings. McCain's longtime friend Grant Woods along with Larry Fitzgerald will give tributes.
Vice President Joe Biden will speak at the Phoenix memorial before flying back to D.C. for the lie in state ceremony.
There will also be a bagpiper, according to family spokesperson Rick Davis.
"John loves bagpipe music," Davis said.
Limited tickets will be available to the public for the service. You can request up to two tickets online here.
Anyone who receives a ticket will be notified by email.
The doors of the church will open at 8:15 a.m. and guests need to be in their seats by 9:30 a.m.
People are expected to line the eight-mile route between the two locations.
The McCain family attended North Phoenix Baptist and lived across the street from the church.
Following the service, McCain will leave Arizona for the last time, departing from Goldwater Air National Guard Base at Phoenix Sky Harbor at 12:30 p.m.
The plane will land at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. MST) at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Friday: McCain Lies in State at U.S. Capitol Rotunda
McCain’s body will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda beginning Friday.
McCain will become just the 31st person to have received the honor of lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda since Henry Clay became the first in 1852. McCain will join an illustrious list that includes Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Rosa Parks.
A formal ceremony will take place honoring his life at approximately 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. MST). McCain's Congress colleagues will present a wreath both from the Senate and another from the House of Representatives.
At the conclusion of that ceremony, the public will be able to pay their respects to the late senator throughout the afternoon and evening.
“The nation mourns the loss of a great American patriot, a statesman who put his country first and enriched this institution through many years of service,” McConnell said in a statement confirming the ceremony.
Saturday: Service at National Cathedral
The family will gathered at the Capitol where they will escort Sen. McCain's body along Pennsylvania Avenue to the Vietnam War Memorial, where Cindy McCain and the family will lay a wreath.
A service will be held for McCain at the Washington National Cathedral in D.C., on Saturday. The service will start at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. MST). Family, friends, national and international dignitaries are expected to attend.
The first tribute will be done by Sen. McCain's daughter, Meghan. His son, Jimmy, will read a poem. Others who will read tributes are former Sen. Joe Libermam, Dr. Henry Kissinger as well as president George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Sidney McCain, the senator's daughter, will conduct a reading along with McCain's friend Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Davis said "Danny Boy" will be performed as a musical interlude at the specific request of Sen. McCain.
Sunday: Burial at U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis
The McCain family will travel with John McCain to his final resting place.
A private memorial service will take place at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis prior to a private burial service at the academy ceremony.
Four generations of McCains have attended the Naval Academy: his grandfather, his father, Sen. McCain, and his son Jack, who currently serves in the Navy.
McCain will be laid to rest next to his classmate and lifelong friend, Admiral Chuck Larson. Larson died in 2014 of pneumonia after two years of treatment for leukemia.
The events at the Naval Academy will not be open to the public or press.
Ways You Can Honor Senator McCain:
Many of you have reached out to learn how you can honor senator McCain through flowers, cards and donations. Here's what we learned.
Flowers
The family kindly requests that any flowers be sent to your local VA Hospital, where others can still enjoy them. Click here to find the address the VA Hospital closest to you or anywhere in the country.
Share Your Memories
"Through a lifetime commitment to service, John McCain touched the lives of people everywhere he traveled," reads a section on JohnMcCain.com.
You are asked to share your memories of the senator in the "remembering John McCain" section of JohnMcCain.com. There, you can also read some of the scrolling memories shared by others.
Donations
The McCain Institute Foundation and Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen Glioblastoma Research) are suggested organization for donations on JohnMcCain.com:
The McCain Institute Foundation is a tax-exempt 501C3 charitable organization founded to support the work of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. Guided by values that have animated the career of Senator John McCain and the McCain family for generations, the McCain Institute for International Leadership is dedicated to advancing character-driven global leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom and human dignity.
When TGen’s founder, Arizona-born Dr. Jeffrey Trent, was the Scientific Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, Senator McCain was instrumental in convincing him to return to Arizona and bring new knowledge with him, establishing TGen in an effort to turn breakthroughs in genetic research into medical advances. Today, TGen is poised to take that knowledge and transform brain cancer research in honor of Senator McCain. We invite you to join us in honoring Senator John McCain with the establishment of the John S. McCain III Endowed Chair in Brain Cancer Research.
Cards
Cards may sent in care of senator McCain's senate office in Phoenix at:
2201 East Camelback Road, Suite 115
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602) 952-2410