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Veterans cemetery honors 28 unclaimed veterans dating back to World War I

Attendees look at boxes containing the remains of veterans to be interned during a Forgotten Heroes interment event on Thursday at Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake. The unclaimed veterans’ remains were transported to the Washington State Veterans Cemetery, where they were ceremoniously turned over to the Department of Veterans Affairs for interment. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Garrett Cabeza garrettc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5135

A bell rang 28 times Thursday, once for each of the unclaimed veterans who were being interred at Washington State Veterans Cemetery outside Medical Lake.

Military honors, including a three-volley salute and the playing of taps, followed.

“This ceremonial act of respect is the final demonstration a grateful nation can provide a veteran and their family,” said Rudy Lopez, cemetery director. “Today, you are the veteran’s family.”

Lopez said the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs works with veterans service groups, funeral partners and volunteers to locate, identify, recover and inter unclaimed or abandoned veterans and qualified family members. It then honors their service to their nation with a respectful interment service called “Forgotten Heroes.”

Cemetery staff collaborate with state and federal agencies and volunteers from around Washington and North Idaho to assist in the effort.

Twenty-eight veterans, plus one spouse, were honored Thursday in front of veterans organizations and the general public. Twenty of the veterans served during World War I or II, and three served during the Vietnam War.

The veterans spanned three centuries.

One veteran, Govan Glover, who served in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam, died as recently as this year. Navy veteran John Daly died in 1915 at the age of 54.

The Medical Lake cemetery has interred well over 800 veterans through this type of recovery initiative, fulfilling the mission of never leaving a service member behind, Lopez said.

Lopez said this helps the veterans’ families learn what happened to a loved one and know they will be laid in their final resting place. Families can choose to relocate the urns to a family plot if they’d like.

“In most cases, it just gives them peace of mind that we have them and that they were honored in a matter such as this,” Lopez said.

Kari Sobiskey, of the Marine Corps League, read each of the 29 names, including 28 veterans and one of the veteran’s spouse; their military branch; the war they served; and their date of birth and death. John Davis, a retired U.S. Air Force captain, rang a bell after each veteran’s name was read.

A Marine Corps and Marine Corps League honor guard team performed full military honors.

Four members of the Marine Corps League honor guard each fired three rounds into the air as part of a three-volley salute. The playing of taps and “Amazing Grace,” as well as a moment of silence, concluded the ceremony.

“Today, we honor these forgotten heroes,” said Cemetery Chaplain Jerry Malone, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. “They were lost for a while, but now they’re found.”