
In the last days of his presidency, President Joe Biden stood at the pulpit of the Washington National Cathedral to finish one more official duty: saying goodbye to his friend and predecessor Jimmy Carter.
Carter, 100, died Dec. 29.
Biden eulogized that Carter taught him that “strength of character is more than title or the power we hold” in Thursday’s memorial service.
Speaking to an audience that included all living five former presidents, including President-elect Donald Trump, Biden added that Carter’s strength was “to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect, that everyone — and I mean everyone — deserves an even shot, not a guarantee. …We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor. And to stand up, to my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all: Abuse of power.”
Biden noted that if he was not the first senator to endorse Carter’s run for the presidency in 1976, he was among the earliest, and it was a friendship that endured for decades.
“Today, many think he [Carter] was from a bygone era. But in reality, he saw well into the future. A white Southern Baptist who led civil rights. A decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace. A brilliant nuclear engineer who led a nuclear nonproliferation. A hard-working farmer who championed conservation and clean energy,” he added as he concluded the eulogy.
Following the service at the National Cathedral, Carter’s body was flown to Georgia and driven to his hometown of Plains for a private funeral service and a procession through downtown Plains. He was buried next to his wife, Rosalynn, of 77 years. She died in November 2023.
In recognition of his naval service and presidency, Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets conducted a 21-aircraft missing man flyover in his memory. The aircraft are from various squadrons assigned to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va.
The eight squadrons that participated in the flyover are the “Gladiators” of VFA-106, the “Checkmates” of VFA-211, the “Blue Blasters” of VFA-34, the “Fighting Swordsmen” of VFA-32, the “Rampagers” of VFA-83, the “Gunslingers” of VFA-105, the “Wildcats” of VFA-131 and the “Jolly Rogers” of VFA-103.