Ted Kennedy 1932-2009

ARLINGTON, Va. (WBZ) ― Edward Moore Kennedy, "The Lion of the Senate," was laid to rest on a gently sloping hillside Saturday evening as darkness fell over Arlington National Cemetery.

"His roar and his zeal for what he believed made a difference in our nation's life," Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, said at the graveside.

Web Extra: Cardinal Reveals Contents Of Letter To Pope

Kennedy was buried just 100 feet from his slain brother Robert and another 100 feet from his brother John, the assassinated president.

A squad of seven riflemen fired three volleys in a traditional military funeral ritual, and a bugler sounded taps. Lightning flickered across the sky.  



 

 

LAST VISIT TO CAPITOL HILL

Kennedy made a final visit to Capitol Hill as nearly 1,000 present and former staffers gathered on the Senate steps to pay tribute.

They clapped and cheered when a limousine carrying Kennedy's casket stopped and members of the family got out. The senator's widow, Vicki, greeted and hugged many of them.

 

"Go now, to your place of rest. And meet the Lord, your God," said the Rev. Daniel Coughlin, the House chaplain.  

 



 

 

Several senators were in the crowd, among them Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest serving senator in history.

Nearby, another thousand or more well-wishers stood on the Capitol lawn under shade trees or umbrellas.

Moments before the limousines pulled away, the crowd on the steps spontaneously sang "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful." 

THE FUNERAL

Earlier, President Barack Obama eulogized Sen. Ted Kennedy as "the champion of those who have nothing."

"Ted Kennedy's life's work was not to champion those with wealth or power or special connections," Obama said. "It was to give a voice to those who were not heard; to add a rung to the ladder of opportunity, to make real the dream of our founding."

Obama spoke at a funeral Mass that attracted dozens of Kennedy relatives, three former presidents and some of the nation's most powerful political figures to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica – better known as the Mission Church.

SENATOR'S SONS SPEAK

Kennedy, who died Wednesday of brain cancer at the age of 77, was remembered only for his public achievements but for his personal magnetism and his devotion to his family.

Web Extra: Ted Jr. Talks About His Dad

"He was not perfect -- far from it," said his elder son, Ted Kennedy Jr. "But my father believed in redemption and he never surrendered, never stopped trying to right wrongs, either as a result of his own failings or ours.

"Although it hasn't been easy at times to live with this name, I've never been more proud of it than I am today."

Kennedy told a story from shortly after he lost a leg to cancer at age 12, when his father helped him up a snow-covered hill with an arm around his waist and words of encouragement.

Web Extra: Ted Jr. Brings Church To Tears

"There's nothing you can't do," he said his father told him. Choking back tears, Kennedy Jr. said, "My father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable."

He and his brother, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), cried during a long embrace in between their two addresses.

In his remarks, Patrick said he learned important life lessons when he sailed with his father.

Web Extra: Patrick On Sailing With His Dad

"In the race, as in life," he said, "it didn't matter how strong the forces against you were, so long as you kept driving forward. There was nothing to lose – maybe you'd even come out a winner.

"My dad was never bowed. He never gave up. And there was no quit in dad."

LEAVING THE LIBRARY

Kennedy's flag-draped casket -- carried by eight servicemen -- was wrapped tightly in plastic to guard against a steady rain as it was removed from the John F. Kennedy Library on Columbia Point and put into a hearse for the drive to the church.

The senator's widow, Victoria, closed her eyes slowly and appeared to choke back tears as she watched under cover of an umbrella. The family had held a brief and private prayer service at the library in the morning.

The route to the church was lined with people, some holding "Kennedy-Thanks" signs and one person waving a lone red heart.

Obama met with Mrs. Kennedy privately for about 10 minutes early in the morning, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, a hotel frequented by the Kennedys for generations.

OBAMA'S EULOGY

In his address, the president focused as much on Kennedy's impact on the nation since first being elected in 1962 as on his individual outreach to those in need, whether relative or stranger, and his resilience through terrible personal trials -- "more pain and tragedy than most of us will ever know."

Web Extra: Obama on Krennedy's Commitment To Family
Web Extra: Watch The Complete Eulogy

The president, born roughly 18 months before Kennedy first took office, noted that Kennedy lost two siblings by the age of 16 and saw two more assassinated later. Another sibling, his sister, Eunice, died exactly two weeks before Kennedy himself.

"He narrowly survived a plane crash, watched two children struggle with cancer, buried three nephews, and experienced personal failings and setbacks in the most public way possible," Obama said. "It's a string of events that would have broken a lesser man ... but that was not Ted Kennedy."

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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