COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – JANUARY 20: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell attends an event honoring the 20th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War on January 20, 2011 in College Station Texas. (Photo by Ben Sklar/Getty Images)
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UPDATED 3:38 PM PT – Friday, November 5, 2021
Friends and family of former Secretary of State Colin Powell gathered at the Washington National Cathedral to pay their respects to the late general.
Powell was honored on Friday in the nation’s capitol in a funeral service attended by Joe Biden and former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, among others. The former secretary of state died in October from COVID-19 complications at 84-years-old.
Powell was eulogized by his son Michael, former Deputy of State Richard Armitrage and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.
Members of the military honor guard carry the casket during the funeral service of former Secretary of State Colin Powell at the Washington National Cathedral on November 5, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Beneath that glossy exterior of warrior statesman, was one of the gentlest and most decent people any of us will ever meet,” said Albright. “As I grew to know him, I came to view Colin Powell as a figure who almost transcended time. For his virtues were Homeric…honesty, dignity, loyalty, and an unshakeable commitment to his calling and word.”
Powell was the nation’s first Black secretary of state and joint chiefs of staff.