re: #42 Hecuba’s daughter

I read that it was Harry Reid and John Boehner together who denied the request. So wouldn’t he be equally angry with both parties?

Nope. Only John Boehner blocked it.
blog.seattlepi.com

House Speaker John Boehner has blocked a request by West Virginia senators to allow the remains of the last American veteran of World War I to lie in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Buckles died Sunday in Charles Town West Virginia at the age of 110. He lied about his age to enlist at 16 to fight in the Great War. He was an ambulance driver in France, and later an escort for returning German war prisoners.

The denial was “a big disappointment and a surprising decision by the Speaker,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va.

Newly elected Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., added: “I urge Speaker Boehner to reconsider this ill-advised decision. After all, there won’t be another request like this.”

Thirty times, starting with Henry Clay in 1852, the body of a distinguished American has been displayed in the Rotunda. Unknown soldiers from wars have been accorded the honor, along with such luminaries as civil rights hero Rosa Parks and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

A Boehner spokesman, Michael Steel, told the National Journal: “The Speaker intends to ask Secretary (Robert) Gates to allow Mr. Buckles’ family to use the amphitheater at Arlington cemetery for his memorial service.

“That way, it will be near the tomb of the unknown soldier, who also fell in World War I.”

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