A devastated Joe Biden closed his eyes and looked up for a brief moment on Thursday before leading his family behind the coffin of his eldest son, Beau Biden, who passed away this weekend following a battle with cancer.
The Vice President leaned over to give words of comfort to his son's two young children and widow, Hallie. The VP's distraught wife, Dr Jill Biden, clung to her granddaughter Natalie, 11, while Biden took nine-year-old grandson Hunter's hand as the family followed Beau's casket into the Delaware state Capitol where his body would lie in honor.
Joseph 'Beau' Biden III, the former Delaware Attorney General and an Iraq war veteran, died of brain cancer on Saturday at the age of 46.
Beau Biden was laid in honor in the Legislative Hall following a processional from Wilmington to Dover, Delaware.
His flag-draped casket was placed in front of a Senate dais draped with black bunting and decorated with white flowers.
The casket was flanked by a black-and-white photo of Biden with his wife and children and a Conspicuous Service Cross presented to him posthumously on Thursday for his service in the Delaware National Guard, which saw his serve in Iraq.
Delaware residents filed past the coffin, shrouded in the American flag, to pay their last respects to Beau.
The Biden family, led by Joe Biden, stood in a receiving line, warmly greeting well-wishers with hugs and handshakes, punctuated by both smiles and tears, as recorded harp music played softly in the background.
The Vice President at one point lowered his head, covering his face with his hand and appeared to weep.
Delaware Governor Jack Markell and former Governor Ruth Ann Minner were among the crowd gathered on Thursday. Governor Markell led the tributes for Biden in a 25-minute service attended by state officials, lawmakers and other dignitaries.
Markell described Biden as a dedicated public servant and a model husband and father.
'Because of what Beau Biden did in this very building, the children of Delaware are safer for generations to come,' Markell said. 'Beau had an extraordinary heart, and from that heart he lived a life that is a model for us all.'
Col. Ed Brandt, a Delaware National Guard chaplain, said Biden's life was marked by many accomplishments between 'bookends of tragedy'.
Biden was three years old when he and his younger brother, Hunter, were injured in a 1972 car crash that killed their mother and infant sister.
The crash occurred just weeks after Joe Biden was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was sworn into office at his sons' hospital bedside.
Beau Biden's life and political career were cut short by cancer, which first appeared in the form of a lesion discovered by doctors in 2013, three years after he had suffered a minor stroke.
After surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, he was given a clean bill of health but the cancer returned in the spring of 2015. He passed away on Saturday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Biden announced in an email to supporters last year that he would not seek re-election as attorney general but was stepping down to prepare a run for governor in 2016.
'In my eyes, he proved to be a public servant, not a politician,' said former Delaware Chief Justice Myron Steele, who twice gave Biden the oath of office for attorney general.
Thursday's services were the first in a series of public commemorations, which include a viewing at St Anthony of Padua church in Wilmington on Friday.
On Saturday, a funeral Mass will be held at which President Obama will deliver a eulogy. All are open to the public.
A statement from the Vice President's office read: 'On behalf of the Biden family, Hallie Biden has requested that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a contribution in memory of Beau Biden do so to the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children.
Source: DailyMail
Monday, June 8, 2015
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