Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs
Media Release
Director Lourdes E. Alvarado-Ramos / Deputy Director Gary Condra
(360) 725-2154 – office / (360) 791-8966 – cell
For Immediate Release
Date: Feb 5, 2018
Contact: Rudy Lopez, Cemetery Director
Phone: (509) 299-6280
Spokane County:
The Washington Department of Veterans Affairs collaborates with Veterans service groups, funeral industry partners, public administrators and other concerned citizens throughout the state and across the panhandle of Idaho to ensure the dignified burial of unclaimed veterans.
Collectively we work to locate, positively identify, and inter eligible veterans and family members.
These organizations work tirelessly throughout the year researching military service records and vital records to locate unclaimed veterans eligible for burial at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery.
Once identified, the logistics of claiming and coordinating the transfer to the state’s Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake begins.
Over the coming weeks unclaimed Veterans remains from throughout the state will be escorted to the Washington State Veterans Cemetery, Medical Lake where the cremains will be ceremoniously turned over to the Department of Veterans Affairs for interment.
These individuals will be interred in their final resting place with full military honors in a community interment service.
This service will include the interment of a Civil War Veteran, his spouse, and their World War I veteran son.
The final committal service will take place at 2:30pm on Thursday April 19, 2018, and is open to the public
The Washington State Veterans Cemetery is open to the public 7 days a week, from 8am to sunset.
Interments are held Monday through Friday and are scheduled by contacting the cemetery staff.
For additional information regarding the ride and the interment service please contact the cemetery at 509-299-6280 or visit www.dva.wa.gov/Cemetery .