WASHINGTON (AP) - Ordinary Americans paid their respects to Gerald R. Ford on Sunday, walking slowly by his flag-covered casket in the Capitol and remembering how the 38th president likely sacrificed his career by granting the pardon he thought right for the nation.Visitors walked past the casket and military honor guard, in the center of the Rotunda that Ford so often traversed as a member of Congress. Some mourners also were greeted in the afternoon by two of the late president's sons, first Jack and then Steven. "Thank you for coming on behalf of the family," Jack told people as they filed in. "Sorry for your loss," some responded.
Jack Ford spent about an hour in the Rotunda in early afternoon, while Steven was there for roughly the hour before nightfall, sometimes sitting off to the side watching people file by and occasionally getting up to exchange pleasantries with some of them.
According to the funeral schedule, Ford was to lie in state for public viewing through Monday. On Tuesday morning, his remains will rest outside the Senate chamber on their way before the funeral service at Washington National Cathedral. President Bush and his wife, Laura, planned to view the casket upon their return to Washington on Monday after spending the holiday at their Texas ranch. Bush will deliver a eulogy at the cathedral service.