INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Former Indiana Gov. Edgar Whitcomb was remembered as a patriot and a hero during a Statehouse memorial service.

Whitcomb’s World War II military service during which he escaped from a Japanese prison camp was honored during Friday’s ceremony as was his term as governor from 1969 to 1973.

Many current and former state officials were among the crowd of a few hundred people in the Statehouse rotunda for the service after Whitcomb’s flag-draped casket arriving on a horse-drawn caisson.

Gov. Mike Pence praised Whitcomb for living a life of courage and service. The ceremony concluded with military honors and a 19-round cannon salute from the Statehouse lawn.

Whitcomb died last week at the age of 98.