'An Unshakable Commitment to His Calling and Word': Colin Powell Remembered at Service in Washington

WASHINGTON - Presidents, top diplomats, military leaders, family, and friends gathered, Friday at Washington National Cathedral to honor the life of Colin Powell.

He passed away on Oct. 18 at the age of 84 due to complications from COVID-19.

Speaking of his own legacy in 2013 at the Boys and Girls Club National Conference, the man remembered as a statesman, warrior and trailblazer said his life has been "blessed."

"I have had a chance to serve my country, and I've had a chance to do things that have benefited my country. And when it's all over, I just hope that they say, 'He was a good soldier. He raised a good family, and God bless him.' That's all I ask for," Powell said.

Powell began his service in 1958 by joining the U.S. Army. After 35 years, he retired as a four-star general and entered the world of politics. 

His first major assignment was as national security advisor to President Ronald Reagan. Powell then served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs under President George H. W. Bush, and as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American to fill those roles. 

Powell's career was not without controversy. The heaviest criticism came after a speech before the United Nations in 2003, calling for war with Iraq.

"There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons," he told the world body.

Those "weapons," were never found, and in an interview a few years later with ABC's Barbara Walters, he said the incorrect claims were a "painful" part of his record.

At Friday's funeral, Powell was remembered by those he loved for the things he valued most. 

"He had a code, instilled by his immigrant parents, honed by army tradition and nurtured by more than half a century of marriage," said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in her tribute to Powell. 

"That hand that took my mother's hand in matrimony. That hand that held me as a baby. That hand that signed report cards. Tossed baseballs, and fixed old cars. That hand that signed treaties and war orders. Saluted service members and gestured joyfully while telling a story. That hand is still now, but it left a deep imprint on the lives of family and dear friends, soldiers and sailors, presidents and prime ministers and a generation of young people," Powell's son Michael said of his father.

President Joe Biden as well as former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush attended Powell's memorial service. 

He leaves behind his wife of 58 years, Alma, as well as three children: Linda, Michael, and Annemarie, to whom he was just, "Dad." 

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