[Michael81Dus]

Even the flags on German Federal Buildings are on half-staff today.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

A 'solemn night' for farewells***Even senior Hill staffers — who are not accustomed to waiting in line for anything — waited more than an hour in lines routed through the tunnels under the Capitol and complex of office buildings.

Outside, people waited in longer lines on blistering hot concrete.

Army Lt. Larry W. Blevins, 33, woke up yesterday morning and drove eight hours from Fort Bragg, N.C., where he is stationed. After trudging for four hours up the front lawn, he entered the dark, cavernous hallway of the Capitol with a small, leather-embossed box in his hands.

Inside was the Bronze Star Lt. Blevins earned during 11 months as a combat medic in Iraq. He aimed to give the box — with his Bronze Star — to the man he called "the greatest president."

"He gave so much to us," Lt. Blevins said. "I just wanted to give something back that meant something to me."

He picked his Bronze Star, he said, because it represented "the best thing I've ever done." ***