Cindy McCain, wife of US Senator John McCain, stands with her sons Jack (C) and Jimmy (R) during a memorial service at the Arizona Capitol (Jae C. Hong)

Phoenix (AFP) – Arizonans paid their respects to John McCain on Wednesday as the body of the late senator lay in state in the capitol for a final farewell.

“He dedicated his life to serve his country,” former Arizona senator Jon Kyl said during a ceremony in the capitol rotunda in Phoenix attended by McCain’s wife, Cindy, and children.

“When he saw challenges to its institutions or values, he fought to protect them,” Kyl said.

McCain’s remains were driven to the state capitol in a black hearse escorted by four policemen on motorcycles. An honor guard made up of veterans, servicemen, and members of law enforcement and firefighters greeted the flag-draped casket.

McCain’s daughter Meghan sobbed openly as her father’s casket was placed on the Arizona state seal where it will be displayed for the public until Thursday.

Cindy McCain placed her cheek on the casket and patted it delicately following the intimate ceremony.

The two-time Republican presidential candidate, naval aviator and prisoner-of-war in Vietnam died on Saturday after a year-long battle with brain cancer.

He would have turned 82 years old on Wednesday.

Following a memorial ceremony at the North Phoenix Baptist Church on Thursday, McCain’s remains are to be flown on a military aircraft to Washington.

They will be on display for a public viewing Friday in the rotunda of the US Capitol — an honor reserved for the likes of John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and civil rights champion Rosa Parks.

The two men who defeated McCain in his White House campaigns, Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and Democrat Barack Obama in 2008, are to deliver eulogies at a Saturday service at the National Cathedral in Washington.

Among the pallbearers will be Democratic former vice president Joe Biden, ex-senator Russ Feingold, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and actor Warren Beatty.

McCain will be buried Sunday at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in a private funeral service.

After coming under pressure from veterans’ groups, President Donald Trump, who had an antagonistic relationship with McCain, ordered flags on Monday to be lowered to half-staff until his burial.

Trump is not expected to attend any of the services but Vice President Mike Pence is to speak at a ceremony at the US Capitol on Friday.

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