McCain honored with wreath at Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The late Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) was honored by members of his family with a wreath-laying at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Saturday ahead of his funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.

Video captured by NBC News Saturday morning showed McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, laying a wreath at the memorial for her husband alongside daughter Meghan McCain and flanked by Gen. John Kelly, currently White House chief of staff, and Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis.

WATCH: Cindy McCain lays wreath at Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/RPjEumbddM

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 1, 2018

A blue sash on the wreath read “in honor of all those who served,” and makeshift signs and other items memorializing McCain surrounded the wreath after it was placed.

{mosads}

McCain served during the Vietnam War, during which he was captured by North Vietnamese forces and held captive for years after his plane was shot down

Pausing briefly at the memorial, McCain’s widow could be seen offering a silent prayer while standing alongside the two generals before heading to the National Cathedral with her escort.

As the family left, a loud cheer erupted from assembled mourners in honor of McCain, according to multiple news reports.

McCain family heads back to cars in the motorcade. A round of applause from the crowd broke out shortly after pic.twitter.com/R1cV2pJHyg

— Ryan Miller (@RyanW_Miller) September 1, 2018

McCain will be eulogized by former Presidents Obama and George W. Bush at Saturday’s service, and will be buried at his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

The Arizona senator, a longtime senator who often spurned his own party in favor of bipartisan consensus, died last week at the age of 81 from brain cancer.