Charleston, West Virginia (CNN) -- He was raised an orphan of the West Virginia coal mines years before the Great Depression. On Friday -- as his body made a final return to the state he loved -- Sen. Robert C. Byrd was remembered as a political titan, champion of the poor, and defender of the Constitution. Political leaders from both parties and every corner of the country came together at the start of the Independence Day weekend to pay homage to America's longest serving member of Congress, who died Monday at the age of 92. President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were among the mourners who gathered at a memorial service in Charleston for the veteran legislator.
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West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd is honored at memorial service
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Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid and McConnell are among the mourners
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Obama: The arc of Byrd's life "bent towards justice"
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Byrd is to be buried Tuesday
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