'Must not be forgotten': Motorcyclists escort unclaimed remains of veterans from Kitsap to Tahoma

Peiyu Lin, Kitsap Sun
·3 min read
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Services members fold a U.S. flag that five boxes of unclaimed remains of five deceased veterans at the annual The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma ceremony at the Kitsap County Administration Building on May 28, 2022.
Services members fold a U.S. flag that five boxes of unclaimed remains of five deceased veterans at the annual The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma ceremony at the Kitsap County Administration Building on May 28, 2022.

PORT ORCHARD — It was that time of the year. Cody Black rode his motorcycle to the Kitsap County Administration Building in the morning. He was there to escort the unclaimed remains of five veterans on their final journey to Tahoma National Cemetery.

"I feel good about this. I really do. And I always do every year," said Black, of Port Orchard, a veteran who served in the Marine Corps and the Army and is a member of Combat Veterans International.

Saturday's event was Black's 11th ride since The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma ceremony started in 2011.

Annually, Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board, the county's coroner's office, Combat Veterans International and other veteran groups work together to transport the remains of unclaimed veterans in Kitsap County to the cemetery in Tahoma.

The origin of the ceremony was in 2008 when Mike Carroll, a founding member of the advisory board, read an article about the abandoned remains of deceased veterans at a funeral home in Missouri. Carroll contacted the board staff to check unclaimed remains of veterans in Kitsap County — there were six. The board, Combat Veterans International and other community members received the remains from the county coroner and escorted them to Tahoma on October 2 that year, according to the county's website.

The remains of Kirk Horing, U.S. Army was escorted by community members in Kitsap County at the annual The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma ceremony at the Kitsap County Administration Building on May 28, 2022.
The remains of Kirk Horing, U.S. Army was escorted by community members in Kitsap County at the annual The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma ceremony at the Kitsap County Administration Building on May 28, 2022.

The next ride to Tahoma was launched on the Memorial Day Weekend in 2011, known as The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma Celebration of Live Ceremony.

The board didn't host the ceremony in 2020 — not due to COVID-19 restrictions, but because there weren't unclaimed veterans to be escorted that year. Last year, a downsized ceremony was launched due to the pandemic with around 250 motorcyclists joining to escort, said Peggy Roy, chairman of Kitsap County Veteran Advisory Board.

The board estimates about 250 to 300 motorcyclists this year, Roy said.

The five unclaimed remains belong to veterans Jose R. Bracer, Navy; Glen Kip Kepler, Navy; Dennis Dean Tierney, Marine Corps, Kirk Horning, Army; and Robert Michael Cooper, Army.

"This is all the information we get about them," Roy said. "We don't know where they were from. We don't know where they served. So we have their name, what service they were in, and that's it."

It rained slightly in the morning. Tons of motorcycles packed the Sydney Avenue outside the administration building, waiting to depart. Kitsap County Sheriff's Office personnel temporarily blocked the street for the event.

The motorcade depart the Kitsap County Administration Building to escort the unclaimed remains of five deceased veterans to Tahoma National Cemetery on May 28, 2022.
The motorcade depart the Kitsap County Administration Building to escort the unclaimed remains of five deceased veterans to Tahoma National Cemetery on May 28, 2022.

Ana Villanueva's blue motorcycle was one in the motorcade. This was the first time Villanueva, a daughter of a veteran, joined the escort, she said.

Villanueva saw the event information in a Kitsap motorcycle Facebook group and decided to come. She found the event great and participants were pretty friendly.

"It's amazing," Villanueva said. "I think it's a great feeling. It's a pretty positive environment."

The remains were stored in a wooden box covered by a U.S. flag. When the ceremony started, music flowed in the air. Service members folded the U.S. flag. Participants stood and saluted when the boxes of remains were transferred to a vehicle waiting outside the building.

County commissioner Ed Wolfe thanked those who came on the holiday weekend. "These selfless sacrifices must not be forgotten," Wolfe said.

"This is very important to the veterans advisory board and to the motorcycle teams to honor the veterans and take them to Tahoma, their final resting place," Roy said.

The motorcade left the site in the rain, headed to the final resting place of Bracer, Kepler, Tierney, Horning and Cooper.

Tons of motorcycles packed the Sydney Avenue outside the Kitsap County Administration building, waiting to escort unclaimed remains of five deceased veterans to Tahoma on May 28, 2022.
Tons of motorcycles packed the Sydney Avenue outside the Kitsap County Administration building, waiting to escort unclaimed remains of five deceased veterans to Tahoma on May 28, 2022.

Reach breaking news reporter Peiyu Lin at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter @peiyulintw.

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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Motorcade escorts remains of 5 veterans to Tahoma National Cemetery