John McCain has been honored with a tribute in the Senate chamber, as his desk was covered in flowers and draped in a black cloth.
The fallen Senator from Arizona passed away on Saturday, Aug. 25 after a year-long battle with brain cancer.
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After the news of his death was announced, many of his Senate peers shared memorial statements on the late war hero.
Flowers sit atop John McCain’s desk in the Senate pic.twitter.com/jILaHBIcDe
— azfamily 3TV CBS 5 (@azfamily) August 27, 2018
“He recognized democracy was hard but living in bondage to tyranny was far harder,” said Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. “Our words are too often cheap and imminently forgettable but John McCain paid our freight with his body and with his soul.”
“To our shame, he lived long enough to have to take to the Senate floor to inveigh against the rank tribalism that we have fallen into lately,” Flake added, as reported by PEOPLE.
I count it as a blessing to have had the honor to serve with John McCain in the Senate and on the Armed Services Committee. If there ever was a true American patriot, John was that patriot. I’ll miss his strength and his maverick spirit, but most of all I’ll miss his kindness. pic.twitter.com/UzYvlRN1No
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) August 26, 2018
“Anybody who any way tarnishes the reputation of John McCain deserves a whipping,” Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson asserted. “Because most of the ones who would do the wrong thing about John McCain didn’t have the guts to do the right thing when it was their turn.”
“One of John McCain’s lasting impacts will be his work during trips around the world – often to places marked with violence, human rights violations, and tragedy,” Senator Dick Durbin tweeted. “I’ll always remember this CODEL we took to Ukraine in 2014 in support of Ukraine’s freedom & democracy.”
As you go through life, you meet few truly great people. John McCain was one of them. His dedication to his country and the military were unsurpassed, and maybe most of all, he was a truth teller – never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 26, 2018
Additionally, McCain’s widow — Cindy McCain — also made a statement, saying that her husband’s passing had left her “heart … broken.”
“I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years,” she added. “He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the the place he loved best.”
McCain will be honored with memorial services in both Arizona and Washington D.C. before being laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
