The public is invited to attend the annual Tahoma National Cemetery Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 27.
The cemetery is east of the city of Kent limits, in unincorporated King County at 18600 SE 240th St.
“Attendees can expect a ceremony that is both patriotic and respectful to all veterans,” said Curtis Langer, the cemetery’s assistant director, in an email. “The ceremony is a solemn tribute to the veterans interred in national cemeteries. On Veterans Day we celebrate all veterans who have served, while on Memorial Day we remember and pay tribute to those who have served and are no longer with us.”
The ceremony will include a wreath laying, accompanied by speeches, a moment of silence, a rifle volley and the playing of taps.
“People are drawn to the ceremony to show their respect for those that have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our county, and to memorialize their loved ones who are interred at the cemetery,” Langer said.
Scheduled speakers at the ceremony are Kent Mayor Dana Ralph, retired Maj. Gen. James Collins and Arlene Murray-Adams, spouse of the late Staff Sgt. Dennis Murray, who is interred at Tahoma National Cemetery.
Ralph has been mayor since 2018 and served on the Kent City Council from 2012 to 2017; Murray-Adams is on the Board of Directors for the Washington State Gold Star Families as their outreach coordinator; Collins is principal with Jimmy Collins & Associates, which engages in leadership and business consulting with executives in business, government and nonprofit organizations. Collins was deputy commanding general and chief-of-staff at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, from 2002 to 2005. Fort Lewis is now called Joint Base Lewis McChord or JBLM.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates 155 national cemeteries and 34 soldiers’ lots and monument sites in 44 states and Puerto Rico. More than 5 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA cemeteries. VA also provides headstones, markers or medallions for veterans buried in state, territorial and tribal veterans cemeteries or interred in private cemeteries.
Tahoma National Cemetery was established Nov. 11, 1993, and opened for interments on Oct. 1, 1997. The cemetery was dedicated on Sept. 26, 1997.
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On clear days, Mount Rainier can be seen from the Tahoma National Cemetery, just east of Kent. COURTESY PHOTO, Tahoma National Cemetery
Two Marines pay their respects at Tahoma National Cemetery. COURTESY PHOTO, Tahoma National Cemetery
