Washington D.C., June 9 (AP) - A simple but solemn ceremony at a naval air station in California.
The flag-draped coffin carrying the body of former President Reagan was carried from a hearse to a presidential plane for a flight to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.
A Marine Corps band played "Hail to the Chief," "God Bless America" and "Amazing Grace." A battery from a Marine artillery regiment fired a salute.
At the top of the aircraft stairs, Nancy Reagan waved goodbye to a large crowd of onlookers before entering the plane. She was followed by the Reagan children.
Wednesday morning, four women were staked out near the US Capitol Building for the beginning of what's expected to be a long line.
Authorities expect more than 100,000 people to move through the Capitol Rotunda to view Reagan's casket by early Friday morning. Rope lines and fencing have already been set up in the area.
A Virginia woman who arrived at the Capitol early says she also stood in line to vote for Reagan in 1984.
In California, more than 100,000 admirers of Ronald Reagan filed past the former president's flag-draped coffin at the hilltop library that bears his name, a steady stream of well-wishers that continued past nightfall.
"It's a lifetime event. I wanted to show my gratitude. I wanted to show my love," said Jesse Garcia, 52, who with his wife traveled down from their home in Northern California to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The Reagan family was to escort the body from the library Wednesday to the nearby Navy base at Point Mugu for a flight to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington aboard a presidential Boeing 747.
The body was then to be taken to the Capitol to lie in state until a funeral at the National Cathedral on Friday. It will then be returned to California for burial at the presidential library that evening.
Reagan, the nation's 40th chief executive, was 93 when he died Saturday of pneumonia, as a complication of Alzheimer's disease. He announced he had the disease a decade ago.
His death revealed that the popularity of the former Republican president, California governor and movie actor remained strong despite his long absence from public life.
"It is unbelievable what I am seeing on TV," Reagan office chief of staff Joanne Drake quoted Nancy Reagan as saying Tuesday. "The outpouring of love for my husband is incredible."
Mourners endured hours-long waits just to drive into a nearby college that was shut down to provide parking. They waited hours more to board shuttle buses to the library, which had to add more buses and extend the period of lying in repose to handle the turnout.
"He gave us eight years of service," said Keith Godliman, 50, of Santa Clarita. "It doesn't hurt for us to wait eight hours for him. He deserves us to wait eight hours for him."
About 106,000 mourners passed by the coffin from noon Monday until the public viewing ended Tuesday night, library officials said. The viewing period was originally supposed to end at 6 p.m. Tuesday, but the overwhelming turnout forced an extension to 9 p.m.
The steady stream was occasionally interrupted by the arrival of political figures and celebrities. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry stood quietly before the casket, made the sign of the cross, put his hand over his heart and left.
Visitors to the library Tuesday included Govs. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, and celebrities Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxleitner, who arrived as representatives of the Screen Actors Guild, which Reagan once led.
As the last of the public buses shuttled mourners down the hill late Tuesday, those on board said it would not be their last goodbye to the former president.
"We're lucky here in Southern California. We are going to have him around here forever," Marisa Steffensen, 26, said, gesturing toward the site where Reagan will be interred.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
