Presidential Hearse Question

[David Henry]

Today I ran across a photo of a hearse with a presidential seal on the side door. I assume that this particular hearse was used for President Reagan funeral.

Does anyone know if that hearse was owned by a funeral home or is it actually part of a governmental fleet? Also, anyone know a site where more information can be found. I went to the Military District of Washington site (responsible for Arlington Cemetary and Honor Guards) but did not find any information there.

 

[David Henry]

This is the hearse used in Washington DC for President Fords transportation to the capital. But this hearse was not used in the Grand Rapids funeral services.

 

[Abe Bush]

I believe it may belong to Gawler's in D.C.

They are known to be the funeral home of choice for handling presidential funeral services in D.C. They famously (or infamously) had to embalm, cosmetize, and dress JFK for an open casket viewing in the morgue at Bethesda Naval Hospital (in front of the secret service, FBI, and who knows who else while Jackie and JFK's entire entourage waited upstairs) immediately after he was autopsied instead of in their own facilities.

BTW, after RFK and Jackie viewed JFK after their work was complete, they immediately decided it needed to be a closed casket.

 

[Steve Lichtman]

If memory serves, the hearses used in President Ford's funeral in DC were government owned. I saw them. They did not have tags, but did have DC inspection stickers that were exempt from inspection, meaning a government vehicle.

 

[David Henry]

The hearse used for the Michigan portion of President Fords funeral in Grand Rapids had a Michigan plate, but not the presidential seal.