Hundreds gather to honor fallen veterans at Medical Lake cemetery on Memorial Day

MEDICAL LAKE — Hundreds of veterans and their family members came to the Washington State Veterans Cemetery Monday morning to honor their fellow service members during the facility’s Memorial Day ceremony.

Many people buried at the cemetery lost their lives during their military service. For many at the ceremony, they spent the day thinking about how much that sacrifice means.

The ceremony included reading the names of military service members buried in the cemetery who did not have family to claim them, followed by the ringing of a bell.

Robert Corlett, a Vietnam veteran, walks through each individual row of headstones to reflect on all of the people buried there who sacrificed their lives defending the country.

“You’ve got to wonder what some of these people did. What they went through. Some I know that did not die of combat-related injuries but did serve time,” Corlett said.

Corlett said Memorial Day also makes him think about active service members who are still putting themselves in danger.

“Even though the sacrifice may not have ended up in any bodily wound, it took them away from family and it took them away from comforts and put them at risk, and that’s the important thing,” Corlett said.

Many of the people at the ceremony have friends, family or people they’ve served alongside who are buried at the cemetery. They make a point of coming out regularly, not just on Memorial Day, to make sure they’re not forgotten.

Shawn Kern and Samuel Kern, who were honoring friends on Memorial Day, live in Medical Lake and visit the cemetery frequently.

“We live in Medical Lake and usually I run out here at least once a week from my home. It’s a six mile run just to say hi and pray,” one of the Kerns said.

Many of the veterans at the ceremony have been coming each Memorial Day since the cemetery opened in 2010. They encourage others to honor the veterans in their community for all of the sacrifices they’ve made.