Hundreds were in the audience for Tahoma National Cemetery’s 20th annual Memorial Day ceremony.
“Today and every day our nation owes them an eternal debt of gratitude and respect,” said Washington U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell.
Linda Collins has a son buried here.
“When you come here it hits even more that he's gone, he's not going to come back.”
Sean Collins was killed in Afghanistan. And he is buried next to a member of his family.
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“Right here is my grandfather Eugene, he served in the Navy as a chief petty officer and he passed a way about three years ago. And then we have my brother Sean Martin Collins and he served in the Army and he had two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan,” said Travis Collins.
“The fact that he died doing what he wanted to do does bring us comfort,” said Sean’s mother, Linda.
Placing flowers at their graves, was the family of the Runyon brothers, Robert and Richard. They grew up in Seattle, fought in World War II and came home to raise families.
Robert's daughter, Anne Bales, loves to tell the story.
“He turned 15 on January 1, 1943, and he went into the Marines the end of that month,” said Bales.
To make a long story short, Robert tricked his mother into signing a permission slip telling the Marines he was 17 years old – not 15.
On Memorial Day, Tahoma Cemetery is a place where many share a deep sense of loss – but also a deep sense of gratitude and pride.
Cox Media Group
