Air Force honor guard takes part in filming funeral scene of Leo
McGarry.

Spencer as Leo McGarry.
Military news site Military.com reported this week that an elite Air
Force unit took part in a scene being filmed for the NBC series The
West Wing. The airmen will be part of the funeral procession for the
character of Leo McGarry, the White House chief of staff who was
played by recently deceased actor John Spencer.

The scene of McGarry's funeral was filmed at a church in Los Angeles
using seven airmen from the elite Los Angeles Air Force Base Honor
Guard. The soldiers acted as pallbearers and other members of
McGarry's funeral procession. Show producers said they could have
gotten extras, but "having the real thing is always best."

On the show, McGarry was a former US Air Force officer before
becoming the chief of staff under President Jed Bartlett, played by
Martin Sheen. In 2004, McGarry suffered a heart attack which caused
him to leave his post, but earlier in the season he was being groomed
as a possible vice presidential running mate for Democratic candidate
Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits. Life bitterly imitated art when
actor Spencer suffered a deadly heart attack on December 16, 2005. He
was 58.

"John's character was previously established as an Air Force veteran,
and after his unfortunate death, we asked ourselves how could we
integrate this into the show," show producer Michael Hissrich told
the news site. "We wanted to incorporate the Air Force into his
[funeral] service. We were all very close friends of John's. It's
going to be tough. The scene is full of strong imagery."

West Wing is scheduled to end at the conclusion of this season. The
McGarry funeral episode is set to air April 16

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