'Real hero': Crowds brave Arizona heat to honor John McCain

Hundreds of people paid their respects to US Sen. John McCain on Wednesday, standing for hours in the broiling Arizona sun before filing past the flag-draped casket that his tearful wife, Cindy, lovingly pressed her face against after a ceremony for the former North Vietnam prisoner of war who represented Arizona for decades.

Former military members in shorts and T-shirts stopped and saluted the closed casket flanked by National Guard members at the Arizona Capitol. Families will small children came by, and several people placed their hand over their heart or bowed, including Vietnamese residents who traveled from Southern California.

The private service held earlier marked the first appearance of McCain's family since the Republican senator died Saturday of brain cancer. It also began two days of official mourning in Arizona before his body is taken to Washington for a viewing at the US Capitol, followed by burial at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

At the emotional private ceremony in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey remembered McCain as an internationally known figure and "Arizona's favorite adopted son" on what would have been his 82nd birthday. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father, who went on to become an admiral, served in the military.

"Imagining an Arizona without John McCain is like picturing Arizona without the Grand Canyon," Ducey said.

Former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl said he had been with McCain across the world and he had better instincts on when to assert US power than anyone else he knew.

"I will miss him as a friend, and a strong force for America, and the world," Kyl said.

Sen. Jeff Flake offered the benediction, expressing gratitude "for his life and for his sacrifice" and "that John made Arizona his home." By the time the service ended, crowds had gathered to wait for the public viewing of McCain's closed casket, seeking shelter from Phoenix's summer heat under tents with coolers filled with ice and water bottles.

The line snaked down streets even as a continuous flow of people flowed past the casket. The visitation was to continue as long as people waited in line, said Rick Davis, McCain's former presidential campaign manager.