COLUMBIA --
They came from across the state, from the far reaches of the country
and from around the world. They came Monday to pay respects to the
late Strom Thurmond and observe the passing of history.
Among the steady crowds that trickled through the Statehouse to
see Thurmond's flag-draped casket were military veterans, loyal
South Carolinians and awestruck tourists. Black and white, young and
old, they came from as far away as New Orleans, Seattle, Denver,
even Hebo, Ore. The late senator's pull was so strong it also
attracted a man fresh from a meal at a Columbia soup kitchen and the
chief supreme court justice from the Czech Republic.
"It's a sad day for the nation, but it's the saddest day for
people from South Carolina," said Kevin Johnson of Lancaster.
Thurmond will be buried today in his hometown of Edgefield, after
a 1 p.m. funeral at Columbia's First Baptist Church. He died
Thursday at Edgefield County Hospital at age 100. Though the crowds
were generally thin Monday, people are expecting a big turnout today
in both Columbia and Edgefield.
Rock Hill's Janie Moser, a distant relative of Thurmond's, opted
to attend Monday's lying-in-state instead of dealing with today's
expected crowds.
"I've followed Strom's career since I was old enough to know,"
said Moser, whose mother was a Strom -- the maiden name of the late
senator's mother. Her two grown children, Charles and Rhonda, both
worked as aides in Thurmond's office while in college.
"I wanted to go so I could show our love and respect," Moser
said. "He was just an unbelievable person. All of his
accomplishments were just unreal."
Thurmond's legacy is a testament to his longevity. First elected
to public office as the superintendent of Edgefield County schools
in 1928, Thur-mond became the state's Democratic governor in 1946
and later ran for president as a Dixiecrat. His 48 years as a U.S.
Senator, which spanned eight terms, made him the longest-serving
senator in American history. He also worked as a teacher, lawyer and
judge and was wounded on D-Day during World War II. His switch to
the Republican Party is credited with helping break the Democratic
stronghold on the South.
Jim Lewis, a Mullins native who's now retired and lives in
Pinehurst, N.C., debated whether he should make the drive to
Columbia. In the end, he postponed a round of golf, put on a beige
suit and made the three-hour trip.
"I had a feeling I'd regret it if I didn't," said Lewis,
clutching a straw hat with a madras band and choking back tears.
"The senator, he's always been a hero of mine."
Thurmond got Lewis an appointment to West Point, though he never
took it. The senator later helped him get a summer job with the
forestry service fighting wildfires in New Mexico. Lewis still has a
book of poetry Thurmond mailed him for his high school
graduation.
"I never remember a time in my life when Senator Thurmond wasn't
an important person," said Lewis, 60. "When anything that's been
around as long as you have, you have to appreciate it."
Iva Brozova was among those there to do just that -- appreciate
Thurmond and his accomplishments. Chief justice of the Czech
Republic's Supreme Court, Brozova credited Thurmond with casting the
first vote five years ago that led to her country becoming a member
of NATO.
"We knew the senator was lying here, so we came here to pay
tribute," Brozova said through an interpreter. "We wanted to honor
him."
Others weren't as ready to shower Thurmond with praise and
accolades. But they came anyway.
Paul Bolden of Belton, a veteran who spent 39 months in Vietnam
as a helicopter pilot, stood outside the Statehouse on Monday at the
African-American monument. He pointed out Thurmond's legacy has to
include his early embrace of segregation. Bolden hopes the legacy of
segregation that was once a part of the lives of now-deceased
governors Thurmond and Lester Maddox of Georgia died with them.
"The fight for states' rights ended when the South lost the Civil
War," said Bolden, a black man. "The states' rights they wanted
meant we'd still be in slavery or servitude. Strom Thurmond changed
about 1982, but that was too little and too late."
Most, though, were willing to forgive Thurmond's early views on
race. Instead, they remembered the man for changing.
"I think the times have changed and it's time to move on," said
Lancaster's Johnson, also a black man. "What's been done has been
done, and it's in the past. ... Strom Thurmond was a great person,
an honorable person. He was a part of history."
Contact Jason Cato at 329-4071 or mailto:jcato@heraldonline.com
Herald writer Andrew Dys contributed to this
report.
