Thousands honor the fallen throughout western WA this Memorial Day

SEATTLE — The sounds of Taps, bells tolling, singing of the national anthem, a 21-gun salute and speakers remembering those who fought for the United Sates filled cemeteries throughout the Puget Sound region early Monday morning on Memorial Day.

More than 5 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in Veterans Administration cemeteries.

The tradition of placing American flags at every grave marker of a veteran continued this year throughout western Washington.

Local scout groups and families placed flags at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle before a ceremony at the cemetery on Memorial Day.

Volunteers did the same at Floral Hills Cemetery Saturday in Lynnwood and Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent. They welcomed hundreds of families to honor the fallen there. This cemetery is one of 155 national cemeteries operated by the Veterans Administration (VA), giving families a solemn place to remember their loved ones who served.

“This year was very special because my sister came out with her sons, and they’re a military family,” said Rhea Goodrum. She told KOMO News their grandfather retired from the U.S. Navy but actually was born in Guam in 1936.

“And so he was a child, an adolescent child growing up during World War II while Japan occupied Guam, and then the United States came and rescued us,” she said.

Goodrum’s sister, Natasha Domingo, flew to Washington from Tennessee with her three sons, David, Aiden, and Isaiah, where her husband’s last duty state was. He’s now retired after 25 years in the U.S. Army. The sisters found their grandfather’s grave marker.

Their 86-year-old grandmother did not make the trip with them, but they were fondly thinking of her when they spotted their grandfather’s grave.

“On there it said, ‘love you, honey,’ and we were just celebrating how much they loved each other, the importance of family, but then also they love to celebrate and bring people together, so this is just magnificent to be a part of,” said Goodrum.

The official wreath laying at Tahoma singled out every branch of the military, including the Merchant Marines.

As a member of each branch brought a wreath forward, the band played the corresponding service song while those who served in that branch stood in honor of lost comrades. So many other cemeteries also hosted services today, including Lakeview in Seattle.

That's where the tradition of holding a Memorial Day service to honor Japanese Americans and other veterans who gave their lives in service to the country marked its 79th year. That tradition started in 1946 by the Nisei Veterans Committee. Over the years, it has become one of the oldest and largest Memorial Day services in the Northwest.

Hundreds gathered near the Nisei Veterans Memorial, a 22-foot-tall granite obelisk inscribed with the sites of major campaigns of WWII in Europe and the Pacific, as well as the names of Japanese Americans killed in action from the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, the Korean conflict, Vietnam and Granada.

Members of the Sno-King Chapter #423 Vietnam Veterans of America then provided a Service of Remembrance with veterans, their families, and the public on Memorial Day. That service also featured the Eagles and Letter Carriers Band.

Down in Pierce County, the I Corps Band played at Joint Base Lewis-McChord while an Army and Air Force Honor Guard presented colors. A salute battery also fired a 21-gun salute to honor fallen comrades.