Former President Jimmy Carter honored with silence and thunder across the greater NYC area
STAMFORD, Conn. -- During his state funeral in Washington D.C. on Thursday, former President Jimmy Carter was eulogized by President Joe Biden as a man of character and faith, committed to improving the lives of others.
President-elect Donald Trump joined former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama in remembering the 39th president, who died last week at age 100.
Tributes in Stamford, Conn., at West Point
Across the Tri-State Area, Carter was honored with the sounds of silence and thunder.
Flags were at half-staff outside the Stamford Government Center, but inside several dozen people paused for a moment of silence at 10 a.m.
Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons said Carter didn't need a title or office to serve the people of the nation, and the world.
"And through that service, he has touched the lives of millions of people, helped eradicate disease, and continued to promote democracy and human rights around the world. He was really an inspiration to so many," Simmons said.
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At the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in Orange County, New York, smoke drifted through the winter sky during a 21-gun salute to the former commander-in-chief, and then a bugler played Taps from the highest point above the famed institution.
"We came here today so this cannon salute and Taps would ring out both over the U.S. Military Academy and the Hudson Valley for all to hear," Col. Terence Kelley said.
Carter served a decade in the Navy and trained for submarine duty in Connecticut.
At the naval base in Groton, where the former first couple christened the nuclear submarine the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter, another multi-gun salute echoed through the sky.
Honors for the former president will be in place with flags at half-staff until Jan. 28.