COLUMBIA--Of the five eulogies delivered for former U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, the most stirring came from a liberal Democrat who came to the Senate openly vowing to fight for civil rights.

ALAN HAWES/STAFF A military honor guard carries Strom Thurmond's casket Tuesday to the grave site at Willowbrook Cemetery in Edgefield.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden spoke of the anger he took to Washington in 1972 and of the surprising bond he forged with Thurmond, his much-senior Judiciary Committee colleague.

In Thurmond, Biden found a man of warmth and compassion who grew beyond his arch-segregationist past and taught him a few things about politics and life.

"He made his choice and went with the good side," said Biden, who was hand-picked by Thurmond years ago to have a place of honor at his funeral.

"Like all of us, Strom was a product of his time," Biden added. "But he understood people. He cared for them. He truly wanted to help."

Biden's comments highlighted an emotional two-hour national farewell in which Thurmond was eulogized as South Carolina's 20th-century political Caesar, a leader who stood by his convictions but never rejected a hand in need, be it black or white, rich or poor.

"There has never been a political career quite like Strom Thurmond's," said Vice President Dick Cheney. "And unless medical science unlocks the secret of his vitality and energy, there probably won't be a career like his ever again."

Thurmond died Thursday at the age of 100 in his suite at Edgefield County Hospital. He lived through 18 presidents, became governor and a presidential candidate, and served a record 48 years in the U.S. Senate before retiring in January as the nation's oldest and longest-serving senator ever.

ALAN HAWES/STAFF Nancy Thurmond is escorted from the graveside of her husband, Strom Thurmond, at Willowbrook Cemetery in Edgefield on Tuesday.

After three days of resting in state, Thurmond's flag-draped casket was taken from the Statehouse to a horse-drawn military caisson, which carried it through wet streets to downtown Columbia's First Baptist Church.

Former Sen. Bob Dole walked out of the Capitol at one point, looking down on the sea of umbrellas gathered around the bottom of the steps. From almost every window of the six-story state office building across from the Statehouse, people peered out.

Behind followed Thurmond's children, Strom Thurmond Jr., Paul and Julie. A military band at the bottom of the stairs played the Battle Hymn of the Republic as camera flashes fired from the crowds.

From the Statehouse, the caisson, followed by a limousine with the family, traveled four blocks down Sumter Street to the church. Hundreds of people lined the rain-soaked street as others from the Statehouse quietly followed.

About 2,500 people attended Thurmond's funeral inside downtown's cavernous First Baptist Church -- less than its 3,300 capacity and overflow that organizers had hoped. A steady drizzle and the funeral's midweek timing helped keep down attendance.

In Thurmond's hometown of Edgefield, near Aiken, residents watched the funeral on television or listened to it on the radio. On Main Street where many stores displayed simple bows to honor Thurmond, people gathered around the small square, near the statue of the former senator.

One of those waiting for the afternoon procession was Thurmond's second cousin, Fisher Strom, and his wife, Suzanne. Strom, a former Charleston police officer, said it was easy to forget what a celebrity the senator was when he dropped in at Christmas dinner.

"You'd see him around Edgefield and say, 'That's Strom,' " he said. "You never thought of him as a national power or celebrity. It's funny, people in this town get more excited about seeing the president or even other senators."

Late in the afternoon, Thurmond's casket arrived in Edgefield, where it was loaded onto a horse-drawn caisson at the county courthouse on the main square and then transported to Willowbrook Cemetery a quarter mile away. Hundreds crowded the sidewalks, many with their hands covering their hearts as the former teacher, governor, judge and senator passed.

The same pallbearers who transported Thurmond down the Statehouse stairs carried the casket up to the plot. About 1,200 people crowded on a nearby hill, watching the procession as the rain began again.

"Senator Thurmond knew what really mattered in life and he knew what really lasts -- love. Love is patient and kind," said the Rev. Fred W. Andrea III. "Love never ends."

In his eulogy, Thurmond's nephew, John Bishop, recalled fond memories of the senator, from licking stamps for his write-in campaign in 1954 to the tragedy surrounding Thurmond's first wife Jean, who died from a brain tumor.

ALAN HAWES/STAFF The caisson holding Thurmond's casket makes its way down Church Street in Edgefield.

"I remember the tears of sadness from the man who the world thought was so invincible," he said. "Strom was a hero to our family. We say farewell to a legend. We are grateful for the lessons he taught us."

Following the eulogy and prayer, a bugler played "Taps," and the American flag was folded and presented to Thurmond's estranged wife Nancy, who sat surrounded by her children.

"I came back here to pay my respects," said Edgefield native Jeff Anderson, who brought his 13-year-old son, Jeffery, to watch the burial from a nearby hill. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

In Columbia, many old associates paid their respects, including a string of former South Carolina governors such as Jim Edwards, Robert McNair, Dick Riley, Carroll Campbell, Jim Hodges and other political friends and former foes.

Other members or former members of the Senate on hand included Dole, Sam Nunn of Georgia, Ted Stephens of Alaska who served with Thurmond for 34 years, George Allen of Virginia, and Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta also attended.

Stories surfaced of how Thurmond got a school bus in 1947 for black school children to use when he was governor, and of his helping veterans weave through the maze of government regulations. The speakers, black and white, called Thurmond an icon.

"Today, we gather to honor our friend Strom," said state Sen. Kay Patterson, D-Columbia, a black lawmaker who said Thurmond answered whenever he called. "It was Strom who helped to keep our historically black colleges and universities here in South Carolina open."

Others, including Cheney, who served as Defense Secretary under President George H.W. Bush, credited Thurmond with supporting a strong military throughout his career, highlighted by his airborne glider landing into Normandy during the D-Day invasion.

"He knew veterans from the Civil War and veterans from the war on terrorism and every war in between," said chief federal appeals court Judge William "Billy" Wilkins.

Tuesday's service was more an outpouring of recognition for what Thurmond had done for South Carolinians than it was a focus on his political past, either as a States' Rights Dixiecrat candidate for president in 1948, or as the grandfather of the modern Republican Party in the South.

Gov. Mark Sanford did not speak at the funeral but provided flags that had flown over the Statehouse during the mourning period to Thurmond's two sons, J. Strom Thurmond Jr., U.S. Attorney for South Carolina, and Paul R. Thurmond. Other flags went to his daughter, Julie, and one of his two surviving sisters.

Many at the funeral said they wanted to attend because of Thurmond's impact on the state.

"I felt Strom Thurmond was a great man, and I wanted to be here," said Patricia McDaniel, who is black and who uses Thurmond as a subject when she teaches at South Aiken High School.

Although most of the speakers focused on Thurmond's impact at home, Biden, 60, said Thurmond's ability to change his views on race after the age of 50 and as late as 70, is a major feat. Such a shift so late in life rarely happens among American politicians, he said.

Biden also noted that Thurmond left the Earth with his sense of humor intact by getting an entrenched Northeastern liberal to speak at his funeral.

"I think this is his last laugh," Biden said.

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