[AP] Former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy in a 1992 photo. Please sign our guestbook Up next for Nancy Reagan: tending her Ronnie's flame A patriot's last journey A studio snapshot becomes a treasure Farewells to a friend Her brush with future greatness Revisiting a 'shining city on a hill' D.C. reminisces about its own The great and the small pay their respects Wall Street pays tribute Final sendoff Media's praise of Reagan may soon subside Cheney praises Reagan's hope Day of mourning is day off for some Remembrance - and respects Solemn capital pauses in praise More than 80,000 make Reagan trek Mourners gather for first of farewells Reagan fueled stampede to GOP America's Warrior Europe: 'It is due to him that we are free' RELATED COVERAGE INTERACTIVES Portrait of a President Timeline: Illinois to the White House Reagan's life in pictures Go to an online pictorial glimpse of the life and careers of Ronald Reagan

Solemn capital pauses in praise

The first state funeral in 31 years fills Washington with pageantry as thousands gather to remember President Ronald Reagan.

WASHINGTON - As military bands played America the Beautiful and God Bless America, the casket carrying Ronald Reagan slowly rolled down Constitution Avenue on a horse-drawn caisson Wednesday. It was followed by a riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups, to symbolize the warrior who will not ride again.

During a ceremony that followed in the Capitol Rotunda, the former president was remembered for his optimism, persistence and long fight against communism.

"Fellow Americans, here lies a graceful and a gallant man," said Vice President Dick Cheney. "It was the vision and the will of Ronald Reagan that gave hope to the oppressed, shamed the oppressors and ended the evil empire."

"He believed in the essential goodness of the American people and that we had a special duty to promote freedom to the rest of the world," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Guests at the service included world leaders such as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Nancy Reagan lovingly patted the casket, then turned and walked away with Cheney.

Wednesday's ceremonies, during the first state funeral in 31 years, brought tremendous pageantry to the nation's capital.

In the procession, units from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines marched ahead of the casket, the soldiers' heels clicking on the asphalt. Fighter planes roared overhead. Cannons boomed a 21-gun salute.

Thousands of people, 10 to 15 deep, lined the streets to see the flag-draped casket. When Mrs. Reagan appeared briefly at the head of the procession, a man shouted, "God bless you, Nancy," and applause broke out.

Some of the people along the way were longtime fans of Reagan. Others were just curious to see the historic event. Some arrived several hours early to make sure they had a good view.

One of the early birds was Tony Zagotta, 37, who runs a grass-roots lobbying firm in Washington and got involved in politics because of Reagan.

Zagotta grew up in a staunchly Democratic family in Chicago, but he was drawn to Reagan because of "his optimism and the fact that he wasn't afraid to use American power."

When Zagotta was in college in the late 1980s, he hung so many Reagan posters on the walls of his dorm room that it was like a shrine. He still has a souvenir bag of jelly beans from Reagan's second inauguration. On Wednesday, he didn't mind waiting for the funeral procession in the 90-degree heat.

"He was such an inspiration to me," Zagotta said, "there's no way I would miss it."

Dozens of people, including several soldiers, were overcome by the heat and had to be treated for dehydration. When the military units marched by, the crowd applauded - not just because of the pageantry but because the soldiers had survived the heat.

There were a few ironies in the procession.

Traveling along Constitution Avenue, Reagan's casket went through the heart of the Washington bureaucracy he so often criticized.

It was Reagan who declared, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." He said his goal was "to convince this city that the power, the money and responsibility in this country begins and ends with the people, and not with some cinderblock building in Washington, D.C."

His casket passed in front of some of the very agencies he railed against. It rolled by the Environmental Protection Agency, a target of Reagan's cuts, and it rolled by the beige fortress of the Internal Revenue Service.

Etched above the IRS entrance is a quotation that might have made the tax-bashing president wince. It says, "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society."

The crowd paying tribute to Reagan included a fair number of Washington bureaucrats, even though they often were the target of Reagan's criticism.

One of them, EPA engineer Lonnie Wright, was just a boy when Reagan was president. But he said he doesn't mind the president's antigovernment rhetoric. He said it was far more important to remember Reagan's achievements around the world. Wright recalled Reagan's declaration in front of the Berlin Wall, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Wright said Reagan's forceful approach against communism made the world safer.

"He may have prevented World War III," Wright said.

The casket will be available for public viewing at the Capitol today and throughout the night. Friday has been designated the National Day of Mourning, with a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. Reagan's body will be flown to California later Friday and buried at sunset in a wooded grove overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The people who watched Wednesday's procession were serious but not glum. They had not been surprised by the death of the 93-year-old former president and they seemed to appreciate the opportunity to celebrate his life.

Victor Davis, 35, a software engineer for a federal nuclear security program, said he would always remember Reagan's optimism.

"He had a way to make Americans feel good about themselves," said Davis. "I don't think any other president has done that."

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