Former Senator who died aged 100 is remembered

(27 Jun 2003)

Pool - Washington, DC - 27 June 2003
1. Close up flag being lowered over Senate side of Capitol
2. Wider shot of Capitol building, with flag at half mast
3. Wide shot of Senate floor
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Reverend Dan Kaufman, Guest Senate Chaplain:
"We pause to pray to you, Lord God, for the repose of the soul of Senator Strom Thurmond. Lord, reward this senior statesman for his many years of pledged service to this country."

APTN
File
5. Strom Thurmond presiding over the Senate, banging gavel
6. Still photo of Thurmond on his swearing in day, shaking hands with President Nixon (Jan. 5, 1955)
7. Thurmond receiving an award from then-President Ronald Reagan (Jan. 18, 1989)

APTN
File - Washington May 22, 1997
8. Thurmond walks up to podium at press conference
9. Pull out to wide shot
10.Cutaway of photographer
11. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Senator Strom Thurmond:
"The challenges are unending. I have been here for about 42 years and every day, there are new challenges. I like challenges."

APTN
File
12. Shots of Thurmond chairing a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing

APTN
File - Washington May 22, 1997
13. Cutaway of cameras at presser, pan over to wide shot of Thurmond
14. Cutaway of press
15. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Senator Strom Thurmond:
"...As one who cares, one who cares about his family, one who cares about his friends, one who cares about his state of the nation."

POOL
File - December, 2002
16. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle speaking on the Senate floor on Thurmond's last day
17. Senator Thurmond presiding over the Senate on his last day
18. Various shots of the Senate standing up to applaud Thurmond

APTN
File - Washington, May 22, 1997
19. Senator Thurmond waves goodbye and walks out of room

STORYLINE:

US flags flew at half-mast on Friday in the capital Washington DC to honour Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

The longest-serving senator in US history, Thurmond died on Thursday. He was 100-years-old.

At the same time, the US senate paid tribute to his lifetime of political service in a solemn ceremony.

Thurmond, whose physical and political endurance were renowned, retired on January 5, 2003, after more than 48 years in office.

He had been living in a hospital wing in his South Carolina hometown of Edgefield since returning to the state from Washington earlier this year.

As he approached retirement age, Thurmond had to be guided through the US Capitol in a wheelchair.

Yet he wielded political power virtually to the end, prevailing upon President George W. Bush to appoint his 29-year-old son, Strom Jr., as US attorney in South Carolina in 2001.

In a political career that spanned seven decades, Thurmond won his first election in 1928, to local office, and his last in 1996, to his eighth Senate term.

His voting record was pro-defence, anti-communist and staunchly conservative.

He was a lifelong physical fitness fanatic, who shunned tobacco and alcohol and was known for his vigorous handshake.

Thurmond unsuccessfully ran for president in 1948 against Harry Truman. His presidential campaign sparked controversy more than a half-century later.

Then-Majority Leader Trent Lott declared at Thurmond's 100th birthday party that voters of Mississippi were proud to have supported Thurmond when he ran for the White House.

"If the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years either," added Lott, who was forced to step down as the Senate's Republican leader in the ensuing uproar.






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