USA MISSOURI GOVERNOR CARNAHAN MEMORIAL

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(20 Oct 2000) English/Nat • XFA • On Friday a memorial service was held for Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan who was killed in a plane crash on Monday night, along with his eldest son, Roger, and a longtime adviser, Chris Sifford. • Carnahan was highly regarded for his unstinting work in fighting for better education and other improvements for his fellow Missourians, and his memorial service reflected his high standing. • The service took place in the grounds of the Capitol in Jefferson City where Carnahan was accorded the same honours as those given to a fallen warrior. • There was a flyover of F-15 fighter jets in the missing man formation, and the solemn march of a riderless horse, with boots turned backwards in its stirrups, the symbol of one who fell in battle. • Many of the nation's top political leaders joined in the eulogy and paying of respects to the governor who died while campaigning for the United States Senate. • The funeral procession started on Friday at the Governor's Mansion, just east of the Capitol, where Carnahan's casket was brought on Thursday morning. • Then, led by President Clinton and Carnahan's widow Jean, it wound around the Missouri River side of the Capitol, and past the balcony from where the governor could view the river, the airport, the railroad tracks, and the highways spanning out across his state. • Joining members of the Missouri Guard were soldiers from the Military Department of the Indiana Ceremonial Unit, a sister unit of the Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. • They provided an eight-member casket team, horses and a traditional black funeral caisson. • Originally, caissons were small, horse-drawn wagons that carried ammunition, weapons and supplies on battlefields. • More recently, the caisson has been used to carry the bodies of important political and military figures after their death. • President Clinton had worked with Carnahan while they were both governors of neighbouring states. • The president told the mourners how Carnahan had been one of the first Missouri politicians to come out in support of a Clinton presidency. • He went on to make a heartfelt tribute to his old friend. • SOUNDBITE: (English) • If Mel were here, and in a sense, he is, he would say, 'OK, so I had a lot more to do, but I had a good ride. You know what to do while you have time, do good.' We'll miss you Mel, we'll try to take up the slack, but we won't have another one like you. God bless you Mel and God's speed. • SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U.S. President • The service ended with a choir singing Battle Hymn of the Republic , followed by the firing of artillery, and finally the mournful sounds of taps (the traditional music played at military funerals). • Besides being an Air Force veteran, Carnahan was commander in chief of the 10-thousand-member Missouri National Guard. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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