America
Obama gives touching speech at funeral of Biden's son
Washington, June 7
US President Barack Obama
delivered a heartfelt eulogy at the deeply emotional funeral of Beau
Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, who died a week ago of brain
cancer. He was 46.
About 1,000 people gathered on Saturday at St.
Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, to pay their
last respects to Beau Biden, among them some of America's leading
political figures, Efe news agency reported.
Obama said that Beau
Biden, who suffered when only three years old from the death of his
mother and sister in a car accident, chose not to withdraw into his pain
but instead to "live a life of meaningâ€.
He would live a life
for others" and brought his "mighty heart" to his work and to his family
while making "a difference in the lives of all he touched".
"The
world noticed. They felt it, his presence. Beau lives on in the lives
of others," Obama said, visibly moved as he delivered a long eulogy.
Beau,
whose baptismal name was Joseph R. Biden III, was the eldest son of the
vice president and was attorney general of the state of Delaware for
two terms. He was married and had two children.
Obama attributed
part of Beau's character to "just how much he loved and admired his
dad", who taught him "that he was no higher than anybody else, and no
lower than anybody else", because "everybody matters".
"I think
Joe would be the first to acknowledge that Beau was an upgrade -- Joe
2.0.," Obama said and everyone laughed, but added that he was "a scion
of an incredible family who brushed away the possibility of privilege
for the harder, better reward of earning his own way... fair and
square".
Obama said that he and his wife Michelle and their daughters Sasha and Malia feel like "we've become part of the Biden clanâ€.
“We're honorary members now," and referred to the vice president as "my brother".
Obama's
eulogy was preceded by another speech by Army Chief of Staff Raymond
Odierno, who posthumously awarded Beau Biden a military honour, the
Legion of Merit, for his career in uniform and his service in Iraq.
Also
voicing their feelings were Beau's two siblings, Hunter and Ashley, the
first from the vice president's first marriage and the latter from his
current marriage with Jill Biden.
Beau "was our protector, our
mediator, the captain of our lives", Ashley Biden said. "Being with
family was Beau's favorite pastime... He always wanted us around and we
always wanted to be around him."
Hunter Biden recalled how on the
day as a child when his mother and sister were killed, Beau held his
hand and said "I love you, I love you," and how on his deathbed he
returned the favour. "I held his hand, and he took his last breath."
The
funeral was the first time that a president or vice president of the US
has had to bury a son or daughter while still in office since 1963,
when then president John F. Kennedy's son Patrick died two days after
his premature birth.
The vice president did not speak at the
funeral and stayed constantly with Beau's widow Hallie, his
grandchildren Natalie and Hunter, and the rest of the Biden family, who
have had three days of solemn ceremonies in Delaware to bid their final
farewell to the deceased.
The singer of the British group
Coldplay, Chris Martin, sang "'Till Kingdom Come" during the funeral,
something he offered to do after learning through a friend that Beau
Biden liked his band's music, the White House said.
Among those
attending the funeral were ex-president Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and his
wife, former secretary of state and presidential hopeful, Hillary
Clinton, as well as a dozen members of Congress, a large part of Obama's
cabinet and the US Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy.