Honoring a president

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, January 7th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: A state funeral.

From the day former President Jimmy Carter died just before the calendar turned to 2025, a clock began ticking for the military units responsible for the ceremonies.

The clock seemed to move even faster, as the six-day state funeral started this past weekend in Georgia.

EICHER: The funeral procession Saturday wound through Carter’s hometown, Plains.

A farm bell rang out 39 times to honor the 39th president.

REICHARD: He lay in repose at the Carter Center in Atlanta up until this morning.

From Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Special Air Mission 39 will take off for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, arriving at quarter to 1 eastern time.

EICHER: Today, you’ll meet some of those who provide what they call the musical soundtrack for the state funeral, the U.S. Air Force band. Here’s WORLD Senior Producer Kristen Flavin.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: I worked on this story with one of our freelance correspondents, Jeff Palomino. He’s an Air Force veteran, a retired Colonel, and had the contacts to make it happen. Jeff, good morning.

JEFF PALOMINO, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristen.

FLAVIN: We’re going to hear from Air Force band members who as we speak are awaiting the flight carrying Carter’s remains.

But by way of setup, Jeff, describe how the Air Force band prepares for a state funeral … what would they be doing right now?

PALOMINO: Yeah, a state funeral involves bands from all the military branches as well as multiple honor and color guard units. The band will have fifty-six musicians today, a seven by eight block, and it’s a very specific instrumentation. No strings, no vocalists. The band itself is actually much larger than just this group. They’ve got over a hundred eighty members in the band - and they have other missions that don’t stop just because there is a state funeral. So, for example, the Air Force plays about eight hundred times at Arlington National Cemetery every year. A deceased airman - probably more than one - will be buried at Arlington today and music is needed to honor that ceremony. So, the manning of the Air Force band is actually based on the ability to do these multiple missions at one time

FLAVIN: President Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946. After Annapolis, he served seven years in the Navy.

Jeff, from your perspective, what is it about Carter’s military service that raises the meaning of his state funeral?

PALOMINO: As you said, this is a state funeral but its also a military funeral. I’ve been to several military funerals, and I’m always moved because I find myself reflecting on the fact that this person - at some point in their life - gave themselves for others, for their country. Military funerals also make me feel like I’ve lost someone in your family. I think that’s common even if the person served in a different branch or in another generation. I thought it was interesting that following his death, the Navy’s top officer, the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti issued a statement on his passing where she referred to the former president as a “shipmate.” That’s Navy speak for fellow sailor, someone serving on the same ship as you, in other words your friend and brother. So, I expect the events of the next few days to be even more moving for those reasons.

FLAVIN: Jeff, thanks.

PALOMINO: My honor to interview these remarkable people.

FLAVIN: One thing Jeff emphasized was how precise these state funerals are. How quickly the military members have to pull them together after a president dies.

VALADIE: Once you have notification of demise, there's very little time to solidify personnel.

That’s Chief Master Sergeant Daniel Valadie. He’s the drum major for the Air Force Band. Valadie’s been in the ceremonial brass for 25 years.

VALADIE: It's one of the cornerstone missions for the entire organization.

With the announcement of the former president’s death, the band began preparations.

VALADIE: There's a lot of coordination that happens in a very short amount of time.

This is a military operation from beginning to end. These are active duty servicemen and women and this funeral is their mission.

VALADIE: There'll be an inspection that happens here to make sure everyone's uniforms are, you know, exactly what they need to be. We'll go over to Andrews, there'll be security that needs to be cleared through and do a last minute walk through rehearsals with all of the team elements.

It’s an honor to honor a former commander-in-chief and to recognize the importance of the person.

VALADIE: within that we’re the musical soundtrack. And if you can imagine a movie without a musical soundtrack, it really loses a lot of its emotional underpinnings.

To provide that crucial soundtrack requires military precision.

EMERY: We rehearse for several days prior to the arrival.

Senior Master Sergeant Brooke Emery is a clarinetist. She’s been in service for more than 20 years. She says rehearsal days can be tedious.

EMERY: You spend a lot of time on the flight line at Andrews Air Force Base, rehearsing the sequence over and over again to make sure it looks absolutely perfect for when that former commander in chief arrives and for that moment that millions of people will be watching on television…

And today, the day of Special Air Mission 39, will begin with a lot of waiting…

EMERY: Everyone will sort of be tucked away in a bus or in a hangar.

After a short 550-mile flight, they’ll get word the plane is on approach.

EMERY: And everything is set into motion.

A joint honor guard representing all the services brings out a carpet, the service-members march to meet the plane…

EMERY: So everything that you've rehearsed over the past three days happens within like 10 minutes

A 100-year-life, a four-year term of office, 10 minutes. The Air Force Band tells a carefully orchestrated story, but instead of words, musical notes.

VALADIE: We're trying to make sure that as much as the event is important for the entire world and nation, that we don't lose sight of the fact that it really has to be important and something that is essential for the family to be able to honor their their loved one

Both Valadie and Emery have done a state funeral before, so some of this is familiar. The last one was for former president George H. W. Bush in 2018.

EMERY: Depending on what station you're watching on something like a C-Span, what you'll end up catching is the band sitting stationary, as the casket is brought out …

AUDIO: [Commands]

EMERY: …the band will play the selection.

AUDIO [Music begins, run under narration + sot]

For the Bush funeral, the selection was the traditional Hail to the Chief followed by My Country Tis of Thee.

VALADIE: So the music is a conversation that happens between the Military District of Washington and the families, and they pick the hymns that they want as material underneath. And we're basically providing the underscore for the movement of remains. We're playing musical honors.

For the arrival today, the band will play two additional pieces, chosen by the Carter family—Two hymns: Abide With Me and Oh Master Let Me Walk With Thee.

And once the band finishes, the casket is transferred to a hearse and the family leaves with the procession, continuing on to the next stages of the funeral.

The Air Force band will play again Thursday when the late president and his family depart Andrews.

The events are rehearsed and timed out perfectly, steeped in tradition and rich with American symbolism, but for Emery, she looks deeper.

EMERY: I'm thinking back to President H. W. Bush's funeral where President George W. Bush was there for the arrival and the departure. And you can see their face. And at that moment, they aren't the former president. They are someone's son. They are someone's family member. And it's a very humanizing moment. And I'm moved by it every time.

With my colleague Jeff Palomino and reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

MUSIC: [ABIDE WITH ME]

REICHARD: This piece is one of the two the Carter family chose for today’s arrival ceremony at Andrews. It’s titled “Abide With Me.” At the beginning of this segment, you heard the other, “O Master Let Me Walk With Thee.” Carter will lie in state at the Capitol beginning today at 3 eastern, then all day tomorrow. The national funeral service is Thursday morning at 10 eastern. Burial is back in Plains, Georgia.

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