Senator John McCain’s motorcade passing through Bowie. Hundreds stopped to say their final farewell #JohnMCain @WTOP pic.twitter.com/bsculWZCFz
— Melissa Howell (@Mhowell003) September 2, 2018
Drivers pull over to pay their respects to Senator McCain motorcade on US 50, which will be passing soon @WTOP pic.twitter.com/CrrbbztR7S
— Melissa Howell (@Mhowell003) September 2, 2018
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain’s funeral procession made its way east through Annapolis on its way to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, the location of McCain’s private memorial.
Crowds gathered along Church Road overlooking US Routes 50 as drivers pulled over to pay their respects to McCain’s funeral procession. WTOP’s Melissa Howell reported from the scene, and said that people were holding up American flags in anticipation of the motorcade.
Maryland State Police said Saturday night they did not expect to close the highway linking the District and Annapolis.
According to a post on McCain’s website, his private memorial service at the U.S. Naval Academy chapel started at 2 p.m.
Before its arrival, the Bowie Police Department tweeted that the motorcade will pass through its jurisdiction between 12:20 p.m. and 12:50 p.m. en route to Annapolis.
BPD wishes to pass along the following info regarding tomorrow’s funeral procession for Senator John McCain: The procession will proceed along Route 50 & pass through Bowie anywhere from 12:20 PM to 12:50 PM; best vantage points would be Church Road, 197, or foot path along 197.
— Bowie Police Department (@BowiePDNews) September 1, 2018
The Naval Academy advised that the funeral will be closed to media and the public, and asked that those who regularly visit the academy’s grounds to do their exercise or dog walking before 1 p.m. Gates 3 and 8 closed to incoming traffic and pedestrians starting at 1 p.m., but Gate 1 remains open.
No tours will be offered of the yard on Sunday, either, but the visitor center and gift shop will be open. Sunday morning chapel services, however, proceeded as planned.
The academy advised well-wishers to “be mindful of traffic laws and remain at a safe distance from the roadways at all times.”
McCain will be buried next to his academy classmate and lifelong friend, Admiral Chuck Larson, who died of leukemia in 2014. McCain’s website said family, friends and members of the 1958 Naval Academy graduating class will be at the ceremony, along with other Naval leaders and the Brigade of Midshipmen.
See the map below of the for the location of Naval Academy Gate 3 in Annapolis that will be closed.
