Sen. Robert C. Byrd was instrumental in stopping the federal government from transferring Air National Guard cargo planes out of West Virginia.
On Thursday, the Guard will show its appreciation one last time.
A C-130 is flying the late U.S. senator's casket from Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base to Charleston's Yeager Airport on Thursday evening for an overnight public viewing and Friday memorial service.
Byrd's close friend, state Adj. Gen. Allen Tackett, is in charge of seeing that the casket and body are returned to Andrews on Friday afternoon.
Tackett says Byrd helped secure federal funding for the C-130s and thwarted attempts at taking them away. So it's fitting that one of those aircraft is carrying the senator to his final homecoming.
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