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Article published Jul 2, 2003
He was a 'true patriot'
Gary Henderson
Staff
Writer
COLUMBIA -- Light rain fell Tuesday as the caisson carrying
Strom Thurmond's casket came to a stop in front of Columbia's First Baptist
Church on Hampton Street.
A black horse with no rider followed.
Across the
street, state and national dignitaries were among about 2,000 mourners who
filled the church to honor the late senator.
Every living South Carolina
governor, except David Beasley, and many members of the state Legislature were
on hand for the service.
U.S. Sens. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings and Lindsey
Graham of South Carolina, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld also attended.
"There's never been a political career quite
like Strom Thurmond's," Cheney said in his eulogy. "And unless medical science
unlocks the secret of his vitality and energy, there probably won't be a career
like his ever again."
It was that legacy that drew crowds to honor Thurmond
Tuesday. Hundreds stood in the rain and watched as other mourners passed through
Secret Service security equipment before entering the church. Patients, nurses
and other hospital workers peered down from windows and the parking garage at
Baptist Hospital.
A long row of klieg lights and news cameras lined half the
block. Officers with bomb-sniffing dogs checked out
For Dee Mingus of West
Columbia, the scene unfolding on a rainy afternoon in the Carolina Midlands was
only fitting for this man who died Thursday at 100. Thurmond had served in the
U.S. Senate from 1954 until his last term ended just months before he
died.
“He was our oldest living senator,” said Mingus, 33. “He deserves
every bit of this.
People hoping to get seats inside the church for
Thurmond’s 1 p.m. funeral service began lining up before 10 a.m. No one was
turned away.
Richard Dillard, director of public affairs for Milliken
& Co., was one of the mourners. Dillard, 51, was a 1970 graduate of Strom
Thurmond High School in Edgefield, the senator’s hometown.
“He was there
for many of our high school assemblies,” Dillard said. “He’d always give the
graduating seniors a certificate of congratulations or a paperweight or
something with his signature on it.”
But Dillard's fondness for Thurmond goes
deeper than just sharing a hometown or a high school handout.
"There's no one
who served those he represented better than he did," Dillard said. "And my
respect for him grew after I came to Milliken. He said NAFTA would be
devastating to the textile industry, and here we are with 700,000 jobs
lost."
Air Force 2nd Lt. Giles Whiting of Columbia sat on a pew near the rear
of the large sanctuary waiting for the service to begin. Giles was the senior
class president and a 2003 graduate of the Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colo. His shiny new lieutenant's bars rested on the shoulder of his
dark blue uniform.
"He's done so much for our country and state," said
Whiting, 22. "Strom supported the military and backed us every way he
could."
Cheney said Thurmond cared deeply about the country's military
services and that he acted on their behalf during the decades he was a member of
the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"I remember from my time as secretary of
defense that we could always count on Senator Thurmond to stand up for a
well-equipped and a well-trained military," Cheney said. "And in this time of
challenge for our country, when we've had to call on the skill and bravery of
our people in uniform, we've seen the quality force Strom Thurmond helped to
build."
A large section of the church was reserved for people who had worked
in Thurmond's Washington office as interns and staffers.
Allen Myrick, a
Spartanburg attorney, and his wife, Deanne, said they were proud to be part of
that large fraternity in attendance. Myrick worked for Thurmond from 1989 to
1997. Mrs. Myrick worked a year longer, starting in 1988.
The Myricks, who've
been married five years, met while working for Thurmond.
"My personal loyalty
to him is the reason I'm here today," Myrick said. "To know (Thurmond) is to
have affection for him."
Mrs. Myrick said Tuesday's service to honor the life
of her former boss was "emotional." She said Thurmond "was exemplary, a leader,
a man with character and a true patriot."
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., served
with Thurmond on the Senate Armed Services Committee, a group Thurmond chaired.
The two men became close friends.
Before his death, Thurmond sent word he
wanted Biden to be one of the eulogists at his funeral.
Tuesday, Biden spoke
with eloquence about their relationship.
"I always thought I was in control,
but I knew down deep I wasn't," Biden said. "And I think this is his last laugh.
What else would explain a Northeast liberal's presence here as the only outside
speaker, with the possible exception of Vice President Chaney?"
Biden said
that in the end, Thurmond made his choices and came to the "good side."
"I
disagreed with Strom on the issue of civil rights and on many other issues,"
Biden said. "I watched him change. We became good friends. I'm not sure why or
how it happened. But I do know friendship and death are great equalizers. For
our differences become irrelevant and at the moment the only thing that's left
is what's in our hearts."
Biden said Thurmond's legacy to South Carolina and
the nation is a "gift to all of us."
"To the people of South Carolina who
knew him so much and loved him so much, America mourns with you, I mourn with
you," the Delaware senator said. "I know today a benevolent God has lifted his
hands to Strom."
Biden's voice broke as he ended his eulogy to his friend
with these words:
"So, I say farewell, Mr. Chairman. We stand adjourned,
until we meet again."
Gary Henderson can be reached at 562-7230 or
gary.henderson@shj.com.