George H.W. Bush's Remains Arrive In Maryland On "Special Mission 41" 41 Pallbearers

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  People hold up their phones during the singing of Hallelujah by Clay Walker during a tribute to President George H.W. Bush at City Hall in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 in Houston.

  People hold up their phones during the singing of Hallelujah by Clay Walker during a tribute to President George H.W. Bush at City Hall in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 in Houston.

  Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer

Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer

People hold up their phones during the singing of Hallelujah by Clay Walker during a tribute to President George H.W. Bush at City Hall in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 in Houston.

People hold up their phones during the singing of Hallelujah by Clay Walker during a tribute to President George H.W. Bush at City Hall in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 in Houston.

Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer

After a quiet, pomp-filled ceremony this morning at Ellington Airport, former President George H. W. Bush's remains arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland aboard "Special Mission 41."

The ceremony at Ellington marked the beginning of a four-day mourning period that will stretch from Houston to Washington D.C. and back to Texas.

In Houston, the city which Bush called home and where he returned after his years in the White House, events began Monday morning with a departure ceremony at the Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Bering.

Around 9 a.m., neighbors and mourners began to line up along Bering to pay their respects to the former president. Less than an hour later, a hearse carrying Bush's remains -- escorted by a slew of Houston police motorcycle officers -- led a small convoy of mourners and dignitaries from the funeral home in Tanglewood to Ellington Airport, on the city's southeast side.

Authorities shut down the southbound portion of the West Loop to allow the convoy to travel unimpeded on the 30-mile journey to Ellington. Along the way, numerous northbound motorists could be seen stopping to photograph the convoy as it passed.

At approximately 10:40 a.m., the convoy arrived at the airport, where it was greeted by hundreds of family members, friends and local dignitaries as well as a military honor guard.

A few hundred people lined the streets near the main entrance to Ellington Airport to bid a farewell to the president.

For some, it was a chance to be part of history, while others had personal memories.

Steve Blevins, a 71-year-old retired employee of Kellogg Brown and Root, had met the president while jogging at Memorial Park. As he and his wife, Karen, waited at the corner of Dixie Farm Road for a glimpse of the motorcade, he recalled the former president's kindness and  approachability.

"He was kind enough to actually talk to us, so that and all the wonderful things he did, we're here to honor his service," Blevins said.

Josh and Nicole Crippen held onto a large Texas flag, referencing Bush's adopted home state.

"He was our president, he was a standup guy, and he was a Texan," Josh Crippen said.

Nicole Crippen, 33, is a Clear Lake native and grew up aware that most presidents pass through Ellington at some point. She hasn't seen them all, but wanted to be here for Bush.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," she said.

Roseann Garcia Peters stood in the crowd as well. She said her late father, Raul Garcia, was one of the first Latino Republicans in Houston's East end community in the 1960s and later campaigned for Bush. She said her father also attended Bush's presidential inauguration.

When her father became ill in 2002, Bush sent him a letter -- and another to her family when he died.

"I'm here today to honor a kind and loving person who was very kind to my family," she said.

On the tarmac, a military band played four Ruffles and Flourishes and Hail to the Chief, and service members fired a 21-gun salute before Bush's remains were loaded onto the plane. Family and friends stood with hands over hearts as flags fluttered in the wind.

Then, pallbearers moved the casket to the plane as the band played "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," and loaded it into a trailer embellished with the presidential seal and lifted up to the plane.

The president's final flight on Air Force One has been designated "Special Mission 41," according to McGrath.

Traditionally, the presidential Boeing 747-200Bs are only designated Air Force One when carrying a sitting president. Since President Donald J. Trump will not be traveling on the aircraft as it ferries Bush's remains to and from Washington D.C., the plane has been re-designated to honor Bush this week.

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Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, boarded the plane first, at approximately 10:50 a.m. Also with them was Sully H.W. Bush, the late president's yellow Labrador service dog.

The two-year-old lab became the late president's service dog just a few months after the death of former first lady Barbara Bush.

The dog will return to service helping other veterans at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, former President George W. Bush wrote Sunday, in an Instagram post capturing the dog lying in front of Bush's casket.

Shortly after 11 a.m., Special Mission 41 took off from Ellington, under a clear blue sky, as hundreds looked on.

The late president's remains were flown to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland. After arriving in the DC area, Bush's remains will be taken to the U.S. Capitol to lie in state in the rotunda with a guard of honor in attendance. On Wednesday morning, there will be a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.

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In a post on Twitter, McGrath wrote that Bush -- famous for his love of whimsical and boldly colored socks -- will be carried to his final rest wearing a pair that pays tribute to his military service, with several jets flying in formation.

The 41st President will be carried to his final rest wearing socks that pay tribute to his lifetime of service, starting as an 18 year-old naval aviator in war. That legacy is now being carried, in part, by the brave, selfless men and women aboard

After the the Wednesday funeral, Bush's body will be flown back to Houston to lie in repose at St. Martin's Episcopal Church before a service there at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Following the service, Bush's remains will be taken by motorcade to the Union Pacific Railroad Westfield Auto Facility in Spring then taken by train to the George Bush Presidential Library & Museum in College Station, where he will be interred alongside his wife, Barbara Bush, and their daughter Robin.

Olivia Tallet, Robert Downen, and Keri Blakinger contributed.

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