Follow live updates from General Colin Powell’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC
“We can choose to be good”: this is the example of Colin Powell, says his son in emotional tribute
Powell’s son Michael delivered a powerful eulogy in which he said his father’s most important life lessons were not trying to follow his pioneering path or duplicate his gold-plated resume.
“It’s to emulate his character and his example as a human being,” Michael Powell said of his father. “We can do our best to do it. We can choose to be good.
Powell said his father had “a zest for life, derived from his endless passion for people.”
“He really cared about everyone he met. He loved the hot dog vendor, bank teller, janitor, and student as much as any world leader.
He recalled how a military veteran recently pulled over to the side of the road to help Powell when his Corvette had a flat tire. Powell not only agreed to be photographed with the man; he had a long conversation with the man and invited him to dinner.
“Colin Powell was a great leader because he was a great follower. He knew he couldn’t ask your troops to do anything you didn’t want to do yourself.
In a particularly emotional moment, Michael Powell spoke of visiting his father for the last time at his hospital bedside as Colin Powell took his last breath. Michael Powell recalled that his father had been in his own intensive care unit years before after being injured in a serious accident.
Michael Powell held his father’s hand, just as his father once shook his.
“That hand is still there,” said Michael Powell, “but it has left a deep imprint on the lives of family and dear friends, soldiers and sailors, presidents, prime ministers and a generation of young aspirants.”
Powell was “always true to himself,” says Albright, and “made pragmatism charismatic.”
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Powell’s predecessor as the country’s top diplomat, remembered Powell for his wisdom, frankness, pragmatism and as a champion of youth.
“My heart hurts this morning,” said Albright, “because we have lost a friend and our nation, one of its best and most loyal soldiers.”
She added: “Yet even as we contemplate the magnitude of our loss, we can almost hear a familiar voice asking us – without commanding us – to stop feeling sad, to look away again from the past, to the future and to look after the affairs of the nation.
Albright said Powell “relished the opportunity” to connect with the younger generations. He used to tell his friends that it was “always a good time” to reach out to someone to put them on the path to success, Albright said.
She recounted her many phone calls and lunches with Powell, saying, “He has always been true to himself” and “had a code instilled by his immigrant parents, honed by military tradition and nurtured. by more than half a century of marriage ”.
She spoke of meetings where she could “almost hear her eyes roll when it was her turn to speak.” Albright said Powell was “brilliant” at distilling what mattered and what wasn’t.
“He only cared about getting results,” Albright said, adding that Powell “made pragmatism charismatic.”
Armitage recounts Powell’s lighter side, family love
Richard Armitage, Under Secretary of State under Powell and 40-year-old friend, shared some of his favorite stories from his time working with the military and diplomatic leader – like the time the Harlem Globetrotters came through the Pentagon and Powell , then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff kept dropping their passes.
“He looked directly at this Globetrotter and said, ‘While you were shooting hoops, I was stealing hubcaps,'” said Powell, according to Armitage’s account of the exchange.
Armitage also looked into Powell’s musical tastes, including his love for the disco band Abba. Powell once knelt down to sing the song “Mama-mia” to Swedish diplomats, Armitage said.
“Our musical tastes weren’t very similar except those with goals in mind,” he said.
Armitage closed by addressing Powell’s wife and children directly. He told them that even though he was busy dealing with pressing national issues, he still spoke about his family.
“I want you to know that he never took it for granted.” Every morning I heard about it.
“He fought the good fight and he kept the faith”
Reverend Randolph Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral, began the service. He said those grieving had come together to “give thanks for all the goodness and courage that went through Colin Powell, his life and in the lives of others.”
“For his loyalty to his country, and his love of the good, and for all those noble qualities of spirit and soul that have made him love so many people,” Hollerith continued. “He lived a life of service and he was a great blessing to all who knew him.
“In the words of Saint Paul, he fought the good fight and he kept the faith.
The church hymn “Ode to Joy” was then played.
Dignitaries and family present
In addition to President Joe Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, other participants include former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne Cheney.
Other officials in the Biden administration serving include Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; and General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Powell’s family members in attendance include his wife Alma Powell, daughter Linda Powell and son Michael Powell, which is one of the praises of the ceremony.
Former Presidents Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are not in attendance.
Powell’s coffin arrives after the family takes their seats
Powell’s family, including Alma Powell, the wife of Colin Powel of 59 years, arrived shortly after noon and took their places on the first bench of the historic cathedral. Alma Powell arrived in a wheelchair.
Colin Powell’s casket, draped in an American flag, was taken to the cathedral at 12:10 p.m. EDT. Those present stood in honor of the military and diplomatic leader.
Biden sits next to Bush, Obama as the band plays Bob Marley
President Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden arrived at Powell’s funeral shortly before noon EDT and sat on the front bench next to former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Former President George W. Bush and Former First Lady Laura Bush are seated next to the Obamas.
A marching band played Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”, a nod to Powell’s Jamaican heritage, before the debates began, followed by an instrumental version of Abba’s “Dancing Queen”, a disco hit. popular.
Dignitaries to honor Powell at funeral on Friday
Dignitaries including President Joe Biden, two former presidents and military and diplomatic colleagues will pay tribute on Friday to Colin Powell, the former secretary of state and pioneering military leader, who died last month at the age of 84.
Powell’s funeral will begin at noon at the Washington National Cathedral. Powell, the nation’s first black secretary of state, widely revered by Republicans and Democrats, died of complications from COVID-19 on October 18.
President Joe Biden is due to attend Powell’s funeral but not to speak. Also in attendance will be President George W. Bush, under whom Powell served, and former President Barack Obama, whom Powell, a Republican, broke from the party to support Obama’s two presidential elections.
Powell’s eulogy will be delivered by Madeleine Albright, who predated Powell as Secretary of State in the Clinton administration; Richard Armitage, Powell’s assistant secretary who also worked alongside him in the Reagan administration; and Powell’s son, Michael.
Former President Donald Trump, whose leadership and rhetoric Powell criticized, will not attend the funeral. Bill Clinton, who is recovering from a sepsis, is not scheduled to attend, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend. Jimmy Carter, who turned 97 last month, will not be attending.
Funeral of Colin Powell:Watch live Biden, past presidents and other dignitaries honor pioneer
Following:Colin Powell, First Black Secretary of State, Dies of Complication of COVID-19
The son of Jamaican immigrants raised in the Bronx, Powell embodied the American dream, his admirers say, rising through the military ranks for four decades in public life to become Reagan’s national security adviser, chairman of the chiefs of staff of George HW Bush and Bush’s young secretary of state from 2001 to 2005.
He was the first black secretary of state in US history.
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As Secretary of State, Powell oversaw US diplomacy in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Powell completed two combat missions in Vietnam before assuming leadership roles, including overseeing the First Gulf War in 1990-91, when U.S. and Allied forces drove the invading Iraqi army out of Kuwait.
“Mine is the story of an early promising black child from an immigrant family of limited means who grew up in the South Bronx,” Powell wrote in his autobiography.
Contribution: Associated Press
Contact Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
