US, international dignitaries bid farewell to Bush 41

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Throngs of American and international politicians flocked to the nation's capital Wednesday to say their final goodbye to George H.W. Bush, the U.S.'s 41st president.

Bush died last Friday, aged 94, after battling for years with vascular Parkinsonism, a rare disease that affects an individual’s ability to walk and talk.

All five living presidents were on hand at his state funeral as George W. Bush, Bush's son and 43rd U.S. president, eulogized his father.

"Through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could have," Bush said, fighting back tears.

"To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light,” he added, echoing a phrase his father popularized in a call to national service, and which was later mocked by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Among the international dignitaries who showed up to pay their respects were German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Jordan's King Abdullah. Former UK Premier John Major, who served for much of Bush's time in office, was also on hand.

Bush's body had been lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda since Monday evening. He will be flown back to Houston, Texas on Wednesday afternoon where another funeral service will be held at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church on Thursday.

He will buried at his presidential library in College Station, Texas in a family plot alongside his wife, Barbara, who died in April, as well as their daughter, Pauline Robinson Bush, who died at just three years old of leukemia in 1953.