lit a candle 2 Sept 2026Thank you
I met Lindsey once, very briefly, and they were kind to a nervous stranger. That's what I'll remember.
Their story
Lindsey Olin Graham, born on 9 July 1955 and died on 11 July 2026, two days after his seventy-first birthday, was an American politician, attorney and military officer. He represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 2003 until his death. A Republican, he had earlier served the state's…
Lindsey Olin Graham, born on 9 July 1955 and died on 11 July 2026, two days after his seventy-first birthday, was an American politician, attorney and military officer. He represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 2003 until his death. A Republican, he had earlier served the state's 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, and before that sat in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995.
He came from Central, South Carolina, and studied at the University of South Carolina, taking his law degree there as well. Between 1982 and 1989 he was on active duty with the United States Air Force as part of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, appearing first as a defence attorney and later serving as the Air Force's chief prosecutor in Europe. His military service continued afterwards in the South Carolina Air National Guard and the United States Air Force Reserve, and he retired with the rank of colonel in 2015. In 2014 he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in recognition of legal work connected to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His first election to Congress came in 1994. National attention followed through his place on the House Judiciary Committee and his role as a House impeachment manager at the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. He moved up to the Senate in 2002 and was returned by the voters of South Carolina in 2008, 2014 and 2020. In June 2026 he secured the Republican nomination for a fifth term, but he died before the general election could be held. Governor Henry McMaster appointed Graham's sister, Darline Graham, to complete what remained of his fourth term.
Known as a war hawk, he argued for an interventionist United States and was a leading supporter of Israel, of Ukraine and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He often reached across the aisle, especially on immigration and national security legislation, and was closely linked with senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, the three of them becoming known as the "Three Amigos". He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2021 and the Senate Budget Committee from 2025 until his death, and took a prominent part in confirming President Donald Trump's judicial nominees.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), retold in our own words. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
5U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), official photo, 113th United States Congress.
by People Forever
Senator Graham visit to Israel March 2019
by People Forever
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with U.S. Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and John Barrasso of Wyoming in Jerusalem
by People Forever
President Donald J. Trump attends the funeral service for South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at Washington National Cathedral in Was
by People Forever
Same here. Exactly this.
Couldn't agree more.