The public farewell to , the 39th president of , is in southern Georgia, where he was born.
The motorcade with the flag covering Carter’s body headed for his hometown of Plains, passing his ancestral home on the way to Atlanta.
His family, his four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are accompanying him on this six-day march that marks his state funeral. Carter, the longest-serving US president, died at his home in The Plains on December 29, aged 100.
Local residents gathered along the procession route in downtown Plains, near the historic train station that was the center of his 1976 campaign. Some held bouquets of flowers or wore commemorative badges with Carter’s photo. “We wanted to pay tribute,” said 12-year-old Will Porter Selbrock, who was born more than three decades after Carter left the White House in 1981. “He was a pioneer in everything he was trying to accomplish.”
Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, who passed away in November 2023, were born in the Plains and spent most of their lives in the area, except for his naval career and stints as governor of Georgia and president of the USA.
The procession stopped in front of the Carter home on the family’s farm just outside the Plains. The National Park Service rang the farm bell 39 times, honoring him as the 39th president. His body was then flown to Atlanta, where a moment of silence was held in front of the Georgia Capitol, as well as a ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center.
BREAKING: The bell at Jimmy Carter’s family peanut farm has been rung 39 times in honour of the late US president.
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There, his body will lie in state until Tuesday morning before being flown to Washington, D.C., to be laid in state at the US Capitol. His state funeral will be held Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., after which his body will return to Plains for a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church.
