SC leaders mourn Colin Powell as a ‘trailblazer’ and the US’s ‘finest statesman’

South Carolina leaders mourned the death of former Secretary of State Colin Powell Monday after he died from COVID-19 complications. He was 84.

Powell was fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Associated Press reported that for the past few years Powell was treated for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.

“A trailblazer & dedicated public servant, he committed his life to serving our country. His calm and steady leadership will be missed,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, tweeted, calling Powell, the first Black secretary of state, a trailblazer.

“My thoughts & prayers are with his family & loved ones.”

Many other Palmetto State leaders remembered him for his military service.

“Today our country mourns the lost of one of our finest statesman, General Colin L. Powell,” Gov. Henry McMaster tweeted. “Gen. Powell served our nation in the U.S. Army, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as the 65th U.S. Secretary of State. Our country is grateful for General Powell’s leadership and for his service.”

Powell’s military career began in Vietnam, where he served in combat duty.

In the Reagan administration, Powell became the first Black national security adviser. He later went on to be the youngest and the first Black Joint Chiefs of Staff during President George H.W. Bush’s administration.

“Colin Powell served our nation for decades with distinction—first as a four-star general in the U.S. Army, then as National Security Advisor under Reagan, the first black Secretary of State, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-Greenville, tweeted. “Our deepest condolences to the Powell family.”

Powell retired from the military in 1993.

He was called back to service in 2001 after being tapped to serve as secretary of state under former President George W. Bush.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said “the men and women of the foreign service never had a better champion.”

“General Powell cared deeply about the men and women of the State Department,” Graham tweeted. “He is noted as a great military leader, justifiably so, but he also had a passion for diplomacy and the benefits of avoiding war by stabilizing troubled regions.”

U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens, called Powell a “dedicated public servant. And U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, called him “an incredible individual.”

“Our nation mourns this morning over the loss of Colin Powell,” Norman tweeted. “He was such an incredible individual, both personally and in service to our nation. May God bless both him and his family.”

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Daniel Island, tweeted she was “thankful for having witnessed his patriotism.”

“My heart goes to the family of former Secretary of State, Colin Powell,” Mace tweeted. “As a statesman and trailblazer, he dedicated his life to the public service of our country.”