PROVIDENCE — They came by the thousands. Young and old, the politically-connected and the common, Rhode Islanders lined up outside the State House today to quietly pay their last respects to Sen. John H. Chafee.

Chafee's flag-draped coffin, which arrived back in Rhode Island aboard a Marine Corps jet yesterday, lay under the rotunda of the State House in which he once served as governor. The memorial today began with a private viewing by members of the Chafee family and his staff. By 4:30 this afternoon, Capitol police said, between 3,000 and 4,000 people had filed by his coffin.

As the first stream of mourners arrived after the doors to the State House opened at 10, two Marine guards stood at each end of the coffin, white-gloved hands clasped behind their backs at parade rest. A round wreath of red, white and blue flowers, with a simple white banner saying "U.S. Senate" in gold glitter, stood by the coffin's side.

Led first by members of the armed services, who paused to come to attention, then salute the former secretary of the Navy, the public stopped in twos and threes by the coffin, then down steps where they were greeted by a black-draped portrait of Chafee.

Among those who came early to honor Chafee was his former Senate colleague, Claiborne Pell of Newport.

The Democrat, now retired, and his wife, Nuella, joined a sombre group in the gallery above the rotunda floor, where they signed a guest book in Chafee's honor. Said Pell: "It's a sad occasion to see a particularly gallant career come to quick end."

Chafee died Sunday night of heart failure at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, two days after celebrating his 77th birthday and on a weekend where he was to a "New Englander of the Year" award.

Former Cranston Mayor Michael Traficante also waited in line, saying he remembered Chafee as someone who "had a very humble way about him," adding:

"If I was to write his epitaph, it would be, 'His commitment to excellence and his excellence of character will always be admired, respected, envied and hopefully emulated.' "

Also among the early mourners was Jack Frazier, the former tax assessor in Warwick who, like Chafee, served in the U.S. Marines.

"I think he was man who was always faithful to his family, to the state of Rhode Island and most importantly to his country as well," Frazier said. "So this was the least we could do to say, "Goodbye, John. It's a sad way to say welcome home. But we're glad you're home.' "

Frazier's daughter, Linda Tierney, who worked for Chafee's unsuccessful Senate campaign in 1972, remembered his "graciousness."

"I campaigned for him in my senior year in high school," said Tierney. "That's when I met him. He was such a kind man. He was great to campaign for. He was a terrific guy.

"I just remember his graciousness to everyone," she said. "At this time we were campaigning for him, he had lost. And it was shortly after the death of his daughter. And he was just, even then in losing, just such a gracious man."

Chafee, a Marine combat veteran of World War II and Korea, was accompanied on his final trip home from Washington, D.C., yesterday by family members, the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James L. Jones, and Chafee's old friend and fellow Republican, Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia.

Descending from a nearly cloudless sky, the silver-and-white C-9 jet landed at T.F. Green Airport at 12:12 p.m. Chafee's widow, Virginia, got off with her daughter, Georgia Chafee Nassikas, Georgia's husband, John, and their four children.

Warner, who served as undersecretary of the Navy when Chafee was secretary during the Vietnam War, escorted Virginia Chafee about 50 feet on the tarmac, where she was embraced by her four other adult children: Quentin, John, Zechariah and Lincoln. Also greeting her was a group of young grandchildren, including a few blond boys in blue blazers and red bow-ties.

Lincoln Chafee, the Republican mayor of Warwick and a candidate for the Senate seat that his 77-year-old father had planned to give up in 14 months, stood with his young daughter, Thea, sitting on his shoulders.

With precision movements, white-gloved honor guards from the Marine Corps and Rhode Island National Guard carried Chafee's coffin through a hatch on the jet to a platform that had been raised to the level of the hatch with a hydraulic lift. National Guard members had built a support for the coffin on the lift with plywood bought hours earlier at a Home Depot.

Another Marine Corps honor guard, led by a saber-bearing major, carried the coffin to a waiting hearse, which took the body to the Monahan Kelly Drabble Sherman funeral home on Providence's East Side.

Afterward, Zechariah Chafee spoke to a group of reporters on the tarmac. He reminded them what his father said at the spring news conference when he announced he wouldn't seek a fifth term.

"He said, `I want to come home,' " Zechariah Chafee said. "Here he comes."

Warner and Jones both immediately returned to Washington even though they plan to attend Chafee's funeral service at Grace Church in Providence tomorrow. President Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton and some 50 sitting senators are also expected to pay their respects.

Warner, a veteran of both the Marines and Navy and the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committtee, said he made the trip to support Virginia Chafee and because of his extraordinary respect for his late colleague.

"Let me tell you, this man was courageous," Warner said, "This man was honest. And he always put his nation first. He was an inspiration to all of us."

Jones said Chafee, who participated in the invasion of Guadalcanal at the age of 19, was one of a vanishing breed of "soldier-statesmen" who had shaped America.

"He was a heroic figure to us [in the corps]," Jones said. Of his decision to accompany the coffin, Jones added, "There's no place I'd rather be."

The trip also gave him a chance to enjoy a fleeting reunion with Zechariah Chafee, with whom he served in the same battalion in Japan in 1976. Jones was a company commander; Chafee was a young lieutenant.

Also on the flight from Washington yesterday was the Rev. Edward O. Miller Jr., the rector of Chafee's Episcopal church in McLean, Va.

Earlier in the morning, about two dozen of Chafee's staff gathered in brilliant autumn sunshine at Andrews Air Force Base, a few miles from the Capitol, to bid him farewell.

On Capitol Hill, an unnatural quiet pervaded Chafee's corner office on the fifth floor of the Everett M. Dirksen Senate Office Building. Many of his staff had already begun the trip to Rhode Island to help manage the memorial ceremonies. Several who remained had red-rimmed eyes.

A white-clothed table in the reception room was covered with floral arrangements from friends and constituents. Photographs of Chafee with presidents from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton hung nearby.

Chafee's return to Rhode Island marked the start of two days of memorials.

 

Journal/CONNIE GROSCH Sen. Chafee in March announcing he would not seek reelection to the Senate.

After the public viewing today, an honor guard will remain with the coffin overnight. At 10 a.m. tomorrow, it will be moved two miles to Grace Church on Mathewson Street in downtown Providence. It was undecided whether the coffin will be carried by hearse or horse-drawn caisson.

Chafee's five adult children will follow on foot, said John Goodman, a spokesman for the late senator. Chafee's widow and other family members will follow in a motorcade. Honor guards representing police and fire departments and the Boy Scouts will line the procession route.

The public is welcome to watch the procession. The tentative route is Smith Street to Canal Street to Steeple Street to Washington Street, through the middle of Kennedy Plaza, to Dorrance Street to Westminster Street to the church.

Some 50 sitting senators, including Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., are expected to attend the 11 a.m. funeral, as are the Clintons, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol M. Browner and several House members.

The rest of the guest list had not been confirmed. Goodman said it was possible that former Presidents Carter and Bush will attend.

Because of security requirements, guests other than dignitaries will have to be scanned by Secret Service agents at a checkpoint at Snow and Westminster Streets beginning at 9 a.m., Goodman said.

Grace Church seats up to 800 people, but there will be scant room for the public because of the crush of dignitaries.

"In the unlikely event that a limited number of seats can be made available to the general public, individuals who go to the Snow-Westminster Street checkpoint will be granted admission on a first-come-first-serve basis," Goodman said.

However, the public is welcome to see the funeral service simulcast on a giant video screen at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Free validated parking will be provided. Ushers will also hand out keepsake programs.

In addition, channels 6, 10 and 12 are expected to televise it, as is C-Span, Goodman said.

The funeral service program was still being prepared.

Goodman said he had no idea how many Rhode Islanders will turn out to pay their respects at the State House, along the procession route, at the church or at the convention center.

"I really couldn't wager a guess," he said. "The outpouring of emotion has been tremendous, and I wouldn't want to underestimate how many people might attend."