Two men with Alabama roots were among an elite group to guard over former President George H.W. Bush’s casket as he laid in state at the U.S. Capitol.

Captain Brye French, from Deatsville, witnessed history firsthand during intervals as he stood guard over the late president’s casket from Monday until Wednesday.

French attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played football, and later became a Marine.

During his time playing football at the Naval Academy, French was voted co-captain by his teammates, one of the highest honors a varsity athlete can receive there.

French, who attended high school at both Stanhope Elmore High School and Hoover High School, played football and Lacrosse prior to joining the Guard. Through his talent in Lacrosse, French led Hoover to the 2008 Alabama State Lacrosse Championship. He also received several awards for his athletic abilities while in high school, including the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Award and the Joe Sewell Student-Athlete Award.

Michael Sanders, who grew up in South Talladega County, also proudly stood guard over former president George H.W. Bush.

Sanders, who graduated from Childersburg High School, told CBS 42 he had been given the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Saturday morning I woke up and we got the alert that Bush had passed away and we were told to hurry up to where we needed to be and from then on it’s been hectic,” Sanders said, via CBS 42.

Childersburg High School honored Sanders by sharing a photo of him to the official school’s Twitter account.

Childersburg graduate Michael Sanders standing guard over President Bush’s casket. Live on C-Span now! Michael, your CHS family would like you to know how very proud we are of you! #committed pic.twitter.com/J9pTXpnTBo

— Childersburg High (@CburgHigh) December 4, 2018

Kyle Morris also contributes daily to Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @RealKyleMorris.