LGF reader “reaganite” has the singular honor of being on the Secret Service security detail for the funeral of Ronald Reagan; here is his account of yesterday’s procession:

Yesterday was a draining/emotional day. We got to the site about 2:15. Those of you in the DC area know how hot it was. I do not recommend a suit in that kind of weather. We started our sweep of Constitution Ave. As soon as we moved out of the shade we all started sweating very heavily. It took about an hour to do our sector. Once the sweep was done, we went into stand-by mode until Ronald Reagan arrived. I was standing about 100 feet away on the right side of the street. This was a point I was glad to be sweating so much, I was able to wipe my eyes without anyone really noticing. The crowd started applauding Nancy Reagan, I was really glad to hear it.

The procession started moving down the street and the crowd would continuously applaud as the caisson came into sight. A little after we crossed 14th street a group of people were quietly singing “God Bless America”. It really choked me up. We soon were passing the military lining the roads. I was awed at them. One man was shaking so bad from the heat I thought he was going to pass out. An NCO walked up and asked him if he was okay. He refused to leave the line.

I couldn’t believe the size of the crowd. Every block we walked was just a sea of people. It was so hot, people were dropping all over but nobody wanted to leave.

The whole time we were watching to see if anyone would toss anything into the street. Nothing but flowers made it to the road, well, except for thousands of water bottles from all the police and military lining the route. We were about 100 feet behind the caisson for the whole length of Constitution Ave. The crowd showed so much respect for Ron and Nancy. I looked over at my partner then the USSS agent, both were doing the same thing I was. Trying really hard not to cry.

The F-15s did the flyover when we reached the halfway point. It made me really proud. Watching the crowd, the planes, and everything else filled me with real pride. Nothing but respect for Ron and Nancy.

As we continued we turned the last bend and we saw the hill going up to the Capitol. As we marched up the hill we paused to allow the motorcade turn off. We then continued up the hill as the caisson turned into the Capitol. That was our hand off point. We turned under a tree to get back into the shade. Everyone was shaking, soaked in sweat. We all sat down on the wall and just looked at each other for a minute. We were finished with our duty. We shook hands with the USSS agents and started walking back.

We were 5 or 6 blocks away when a car pulled over and asked us if we wanted a ride. He had seen us in the procession. He drove us all the way back to our Hotel. To whomever you are, thank you. Last night, some guys we met in the bar picked up our tab. Thanks guys.

I know this is really a rough draft but I really I wanted to get some of this out.

I’m off to the Capitol now.

Tomorrow, I go to the National Cathedral.

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