THE UNFORGOTTEN, Run to Tahoma
Celebration of Life Ceremony

**2021 Ceremony Update**

The Unforgotten—Run to Tahoma occurs each May on Memorial Day. This ceremony honors Kitsap County veterans whose remains are unclaimed. Unfortunately, this well-attended event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID. While the county, Veterans Advisory Board, and other veterans groups wish to continue the tradition of honoring these veterans, we will once again be unable to hold a public ceremony in 2021 due to public gathering limits.  

The VAB and other veterans groups are working with a small group to transport the remains of six individuals identified as unclaimed veterans. Tahoma National Cemetery has agreed to accept the remains during May 2021. However, the cemetery can only allow 25 individuals on site. This event is being coordinated by members of the Veterans Advisory Board.  

While the larger ceremony cannot occur this year, the six individuals transferred in 2021 will be honored at next year's ceremony.  

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Each year, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners, Kitsap County Coroner's Office, Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board and Combat Veterans International host The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma Celebration of Life Ceremony on Memorial Day weekend. Please visit this page for updates on the ceremony this year. 

Origins of The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma
In 2008, Mike Carroll, a founding member of the Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board, read an article about the abandoned remains of deceased veterans at a funeral home in Missouri.  Carroll contacted veterans advisory board staff to see if the Kitsap County Coroner's Office had any unclaimed remains.  The coroner had six unclaimed veteran remains.

The weather was cold and rainy on October 2, 2008 when a small group of representatives from the Veterans Advisory Board, Combat Veterans International, and Kitsap communities received the remains of the six unclaimed veterans in the care of the county coroner and escorted them to Tahoma National Cemetery for the first Run to Tahoma.

The next event occurred on Saturday, Memorial Day Weekend in 2011, and became known as The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma II.  At their June 2011 meeting, the Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board passed a motion that the ceremony would only occur when there was at least one unclaimed veteran in the care of the county coroner. 

Recording of the 2015 Run to Tahoma:

2015 Documentary