A ceremony to honor 30 American Civil War veterans and 31 Civil War spouses is set for 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22 at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.
All are invited to the ceremony to honor the veterans at the cemetery, 18600 SE 240th St., in unincorporated King County, outside of the city limits but with a Kent address.
The Washington state chapter of the Missing In America Project identified the unclaimed remains of the veterans and spouses stored at a Seattle cemetery, according to a Facebook post by the state chapter. The numbers include 12 married couples.
“Some of them will be reunited with family in New York, Maine, Rhode Island and Washington state,” according to the post. “Some will be inurned at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery (in Medical Lake, near Spokane). One Navy veteran will be buried at sea. The majority of them will be placed at Tahoma National Cemetery.”
The chapter continues to pursue eligibility for one veteran and five spouses included in the total.
Volunteers completed the inventory of unclaimed remains in July, according to the chapter. The initial inventory began in 2016 with approximately 1,700 names. Due to staff changes, policy changes and COVID-19, the process was shut down for several years.
The Missing in America Project (miap.us) is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Waynesville, Missouri. The group’s intention is to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremains of American veterans. The Missing in America Project was launched nationwide in January 2007.
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War also worked to honor the veterans at Tahoma National Cemetery. The Civil War ended in 1865.
At 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, Dignity Memorial’s Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home and Cemetery, 11111 Aurora Ave. N., in Seattle, will host a memorial service to honor the lives of the Civil War veterans.
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