From the S&S archives: Mourning reflected in faces

BELGRADE — The significance of it all could be seen in the faces of his people.

Tens of thousands pressed up against the ropes and barricades that separated them from the streets and the building that was the focus of their attention. At 12 o'clock bells rang and the roar of guns thundered through the city.

An honor guard carried the simple wooden casket down the red-carpeted steps of the assembly building.

Many of those watching cried.

There was no shame, no effort to hide the tears.

Guards and policemen cried.

Men and women wept openly.

Both young and old were emotionally overcome.

Many clung to each other for support.

The strained faces of those who did not cry mirrored the pain and sorrow they felt.

"Josip Broz Tito was more than a leader and a president to Yugoslavia. He was close to all of us.

"He understood our problems," said one spectator at the funeral services Thursday.

This special "closeness," this unique relationship between Yugoslavians and the man who had been their leader for 35 years brought them to the streets of Belgrade.

Few could really see the ceremony in front of the assembly building.

But they stood, packed tightly together for hours, waiting for the event, wanting to be a part of it, to pay their respects to this man, their comrade whom they loved and honored.

During a 2½-day period prior to the funeral services some half million Yugoslavians filed by Tito's closed casket in the assembly building.

They had waited in lines that snaked around city blocks, down steps and through underpasses, for as long as four and five hours for this privilege.

On Thursday, in addition to the thousands that crowded in the area around the assembly building, there were many more who lined the city streets along the route of the funeral procession.

They were an amazingly disciplined group, quiet and serious, as the occasion demanded.

Security was tight.

In addition to the armed policemen who patrolled the area, there were members of youth groups who wore royal blue cotton work suits and helped to control the crowds.

Men in business suits wearing red arm bands also helped with crowd control.

There were scouts wearing khaki uniforms and Red Cross arm bands who offered water to the thirsty among the crowd.

Far from the mobs of citizens, but close to the ceremony, were the dignitaries, the heads of states and members of official delegations who attended the event.

The ceremony itself was simple but impressive.

Somber symphonic sounds came from loudspeakers and filled the entire area.

Military officers carried the extensive collection of Tito's medals and decorations displayed on red velvet that had surrounded his casket in the assembly.

They took their places in the processional line.

As an American resident of Belgrade pointed out, "I've lived through the terms of seven different U.S. presidents, but most Yugoslavians have known only Tito."

A young Yugoslavian medical student expressed her feelings and those of her countrymen at this moving and monumental occasion. "I don't have enough words to say what I feel. It's a great loss for us. We always thought he would live a long time. But Tito is not only Tito. We are Tito. We have learned his ways. We just have to continue his ideas and his way."