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Colin Powell is remembered as a down-to-earth statesman and leader at his funeral

By Brian Naylor

Published November 5, 2021 at 12:38 PM CDT

Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell is pictured after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in Washington, D.C. Powell died in October and is being honored at a funeral service on Friday.

Updated November 5, 2021 at 1:34 PM ET

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is being memorialized today at a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.

Powell, a four-star general, and the first Black person to serve as secretary of state and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, died Oct. 18 at the age of 84 from complications of COVID-19.

While the service is not open to the public, you can watch it streamed here beginning at noon ET.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are attending along with other dignitaries and military officials (Powell was national security adviser to former President Ronald Reagan and served two tours in Vietnam).

Biden was joined by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush and their wives. An array of other high-ranking officials are on hand, from the current and former administrations, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former secretaries Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and James Baker. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is also in attendance, as is former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen.

Music will be provided by military ensembles and the Cathedral Choir.

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, along with Powell's son Michael will give tributes.

Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, the dean of the Cathedral, said Powell was "a blessing to all who knew him."

Quoting the apostle Paul, Hollerith said Powell "fought the good fight and he kept the faith."

A funeral service for former Secretary of State Colin Powell was held at Washington's National Cathedral on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Armitage said Powell told him, "We always need to treat people with a little more respect than they deserve, because we don't know what's going on with their lives."

He also related a story from when Powell was visited by the Swedish foreign minister, who presented Powell — a fan of the Swedish pop group ABBA — with a set of their CDs. Armitage said Powell "immediately got down on one knee and sang the entire Mama Mia to a very amused foreign minister from Sweden and to a gob-smacked U.S. delegation."