After the pomp and circumstance of the Capitol Rotunda lying-in and the National Cathedral funeral, Sen. Lindsey Graham came back to his home state, where thousands of his fellow South Carolinians mourned a small-town boy who had made good.
Gov. Henry McMaster quoted Graham in his tribute, saying “we’re here to celebrate this poor boy from South Carolina,” as the senator called himself. But the crowds were also there to commemorate, McMaster said, “what he accomplished by great determination and character.” The two other speakers, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), both spoke of the moments they’ll remember forever, leaving the congregation both laughing and crying.
Scott heralded Graham’s commitment to stand up for those who could not. “Lindsey was 100% pro-life when it was convenient, and when it was not,” he said. Gowdy recalled: “I never met a less pretentious person in my life than Lindsey Graham. It wasn’t the trappings of office he cared about; it was the work.”
Over 1,000 people gathered for the noon service at First Baptist Church in Columbia. I remember watching 23 years ago, in 2023, when the state said farewell to Sen. Strom Thurmond in this immense sanctuary.
On July 29, I joined hundreds of other South Carolinians as we queued for seats at 9:30 AM in front of the church. Friendly church deacons explained that with all the dignitaries there, security would wand us and check our bags. (Wouldn’t it be nice if our country could once again have mass gatherings without the need for that? Or without having to bring clear plastic bags instead of a purse?)
We waited in the summer humidity, and I counted camera setups (eight outside, more in the church), as well as K-9 units and the Columbia Metropolitan Bomb Squad truck. Everyone in line chatted about how far they had to walk, as three streets around the church and the route from the State House were blockaded by police.
Five blocks to the south along Main Street, the Graham family and dignitaries were at Graham’s final visit to the South Carolina State House, where law enforcement officers greeted the caisson. It was the site where Sen. Graham first served as a state representative in 1992. At 11 AM, four F-16s from the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base flew over.
By that time, we had been waiting inside for close to an hour. We couldn’t see the procession of the horse-drawn caisson down Main Street to the church, but even from inside, we heard the roar of the F-16s flying over. It’s a small world; one of the ladies I sat beside, in a pew right behind the reserved seats for S.C. senators, was the mother and godmother of one of the F-16 pilots, Col. Zach Counts. Both ladies spoke of how they last saw Graham at the church’s annual July 4 celebration, which they said he never missed.
As more politicians filed into the church they didn’t sit down; they’d all stand and chat with each other, shaking hands, slapping backs. It was a shock to watch so many S.C. politicians in one place – local, national, Democrat and Republican – and not see a smiling, joking Sen. Lindsey Graham in the middle of them all. Both candidates for governor in this fall's race were there, as well as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, another South Carolinian.
Abruptly, the politicians and dignitaries quieted and sat. Two screens in the front of the church showed the Armed Forces Pallbearer Team taking the flag-draped casket off the caisson and marching slowly up the 20 steps of the church into the foyer. For nearly 15 minutes, everyone in this crowd of naturally verbose speakers was silent, listening to the hymns every Baptist and Methodist knows: “Shall We Gather at the River,” “He Leadeth Me,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “It Is Well with My Soul,” and more. Like so many other events in our life now, this service was made for a television timetable, and we had to begin right at noon.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) read the Twenty-Third Psalm. Fox host Ainsley Earhardt, a South Carolina native and friend of the late senator, read the Gospel lesson from John 11:21-27 – the story of Lazarus. (Her fiancé Sean Hannity attended but didn’t speak.) Scott C. Farmer, a 25-year staff member for the senator, read Revelation 21:2-7. The 140-member First Baptist Church choir led the congregation in singing “Amazing Grace.”
Everyone told stories of Graham’s dedication to his state, his fellow citizens, and his sense of humor. McMaster told how in 2002, during a ceremony at the State House, then Senior Sen. Fritz Hollings, a Democrat, was introduced to “noticeably polite” applause at the majority Republican gathering. Then during Graham’s announcement, “the applause immediately began to swell. Lindsey reached over and grabbed Sen. Hollings’ hand and raised it high with his own,” McMaster said. “So, there we were, two U.S. senators, hands held high, as the thunderous applause washed over them. I believe that not many men would have done what Lindsey did.”
Scott recalled a story from his wedding. “Lindsey is talking to this little kid named Case (who is in the arms of his parents), and Lindsey leans in and says, ‘Case, I’m so sorry buddy, there will be no Social Security for you!’ All the adults burst out laughing, and poor little Case is like, ‘What’s Social Security?’”
Gowdy told the story of a prayer breakfast Scott organized, and how Gowdy thought to himself, “I was so lucky I had two senators that quoted the Bible. One of them got it right and one of them wasn’t even close. Tim asked us to share our favorite Bible verse, and Lindsey stood up and shared his, and I whispered to Tim, ‘that’s actually a line from the movie Gladiator.”
Along with many laughs, there were tears. Gowdy visibly struggled at the end of his eulogy as he pledged to help look after Graham’s sister. “I want you to know, brother, that your name will echo through the halls of history. Your state and your country, they loved you. Your family and your friends, they loved you. And I wish you could have been here to listen to how much people loved and respected you.”
The entire congregation remained seated as the Graham family left, and the procession started the journey to Pickens County, where Lindsey Graham was buried in a private family ceremony.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, his administration’s bold leadership, and Senate leaders like the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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