James Whitmore, the award-winning actor who died of lung cancer on Feb. 6, wanted to be wakened to see the inauguration of Barack Obama. He wasn't always lucid by then, but he demanded to be helped to his feet. "He was holding me tight, legs shaky, grip weak. But he was upright....The National Anthem began to play. He stood straighter This old Marine, this proud American, was standing at attention for his country’s anthem. When it was done, he allowed me to sit him back down in his chair where he returned to his state of semi-consciousness," writes his son Steve Whitmore, the Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman, in a visiting blogger post at LA Observed. Read it here.

A public memorial service for James Whitmore is scheduled for March 28 at 1 p.m. at the Directors Guild of America on Sunset Boulevard.

Photo of James Whitmore at American Civil Liberties Union Bill of Rights dinner in 2006, by Fred Prouser for Reuters via Yahoo