Ford's coffin on display in Capitol Rotunda


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday December 30, 2006

Washington- The flag-draped coffin of the late Gerald Ford, 38th president of the United States, was delivered Saturday to the seat of Congress in a solemn ceremony. The remains were placed at the centre of the Capitol Rotunda, a cavernous marble chamber where Ford will lie in state until Tuesday morning.

As the ceremony closed, Betty Ford placed her folded hands atop her husband's coffin, bowed her head and closed her eyes for several seconds before stepping away.

Even before the evening prayer service ended, a long line of citizens had formed outside the Capitol on a chilly winter evening, awaiting the opening of the Rotunda to the general public. The wait was expected to extend for several hours.

Ford, 93, died Tuesday in in California, where the former first couple had lived in retirement for 30 years, after he was defeated in the 1976 presidential election.

He was a long-serving member of Congress and leader of the centre- right Republican minority in the House of Representatives, before being appointed in late 1973 to vacancy in the vice presidency.

Less than a year later, then-president Richard Nixon resigned to avoid a looming impeachment over the so-called Watergate scandal, and Ford was elevated to the presidency.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency