Cindy McCain lays her head on the casket of US Senator John McCain during the first of two services for the long-serving statesman and former prisoner of war.

Cindy McCain pressed her face against the flag-draped casket of her husband, US Senator John McCain, and several of his children sobbed during the first of two services for the long-serving statesman and former prisoner of war before he is taken for the last time from the state he has represented since the 1980s.

The service at the Arizona Capitol marked the first appearance of McCain's family members since the senator died on Saturday (Sunday NZT) of brain cancer.

During a brief private service inside the Capitol rotunda, Governor Doug Ducey remembered McCain as a senator and internationally known figure as well as a key figure in the history of the Arizona.

MATT YORK/AP Military personal carry the casket of Senator John McCain into the Capitol rotunda for a memorial service.

While long-serving politician and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was an Arizona native, McCain was "Arizona's favourite adopted son," the governor said on would have been McCain's 82nd birthday.

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"Imagining an Arizona without John McCain is like picturing Arizona without the Grand Canyon,'' Ducey said.

Former Arizona SenatorJon Kyl said he has been with McCain all around the world and that he had better instincts on when to assert U.S. power than anyone else he knew.

Kyl said he would miss McCain and that his greatest contribution was national security.

MATT YORK/AP Cindy McCain arrives for a memorial service for John McCain, at the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, escorted by her sons Jimmy, left, and Jack.

Senator Jeff Flake offered the benediction at the service.

Later the Capitol would be open to members of the public who wanted to pay their respects.

Arizona National Guard members carried the casket into the Arizona State Capitol Museum rotunda, where McCain would lie in state.

CHARLES DHARAPAK/AP John McCain was "Arizona's favourite adopted son," Governor Doug Ducey said on what would have been McCain's 82nd birthday.

Black curtains hung in the rotunda at the museum that hosts tourists and history buffs on a typical day as well state capitol workers bustling from one office to another. Arizona and US flags encircled the room.

Before the ceremony started, veterans and active military members had staked out spots on the pavement to wait for the hearse that brought McCain's body from a funeral home to the Capitol.

Other military members in uniform congregated on the Capitol plaza.

Veteran Judith Hatch handed out flags to those assembled, saying Arizona lost a champion for the military.

"We definitely have lost a strong advocate, so we'll need someone who is going to step up to the plate,'' Hatch said.

The viewing later in the day will go on as long as people are waiting in line, said Rick Davis, McCain's former presidential campaign manager.

For some Arizona residents, McCain has been a political fixture in the state for their entire lives. He took office in the state in the early 1980s, first as a congressman and then as a senator in the seat once held by Goldwater.

McCain is the third person to lie in state in the rotunda in the past 40 years; others were Arizona state Senator Marilyn Jarrett in 2006 and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, a Tucson resident, in 1980.

Thursday morning (Friday NZT) will feature a procession through Phoenix on the way to a memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church, with the public invited to line the route along Interstate 17.

The memorial service will include multiple tributes, readings and musical performances, including a tribute from former US Vice President Joe Biden.

Musical choices include a performance of Amazing Grace by the Brophy Student Ensemble and a recessional to My Way by Frank Sinatra.

From there, McCain will depart Arizona from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Another viewing will be at the US Capitol on Friday, with a final memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.