Tahoma National Cemetery
18600 SE 240th Street
Kent, King County, Washington 98042
425-413-9614
Washington, D.C. — Tahoma National Cemetery, the 115th Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemetery and the first in Washington state, will be dedicated in a ceremony honoring all U.S. military veterans Friday, Sept. 26.
VA Secretary-Designate Hershel Gober said, “This new cemetery reflects both the commitment of the brave men and women who served our country and our nation’s commitment to these veterans. The veterans of Washington state have worked long and hard for a national cemetery. Their efforts are finally being rewarded with a national shrine befitting their sacrifice and dedication.”
The cemetery’s name is derived from Puget Sound’s Native Americans, who refer to nearby Mount Rainier as “Tahoma,” which means “snowiest peak” or “the mountain that is God.” Mount Rainier, which has a lower peak called “Little Tahoma,” serves as a majestic visual anchor from the cemetery’s flag assembly area looking southeast toward the main entrance.
Cemetery office is open Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Cemetery Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Directions from nearest airport:
From Sea-Tac Airport, take Interstate-5 southbound to exit 142A (Highway 18 Auburn/North Bend). Stay on Highway 18 for 13 miles. Take the S.E. 256th Street exit. At the stop sign turn left onto 256th Street. At the first traffic light, turn right onto 180th Avenue S.E. proceed straight after three way stop. At the stop sign, turn right onto 240th Street.
Tahoma National Cemetery was established Nov. 11, 1993, and opened for interments on Oct. 1, 1997. The cemetery was dedicated on Sept. 26, 1997. A small expansion project was completed in March 2006. The $6 million project included over 12,000 new columbarium niches, more than 5,000 pre-placed crypts, road improvements, new signage, a third committal shelter and a third funeral cortege lane at the Public Information Center. Phase II of the expansion project was completed in June, 2014. The $24 million project included over 14,000 new columbarium niches, more than 9,000 pre-placed crypts, 6,000 in-ground garden cremation sites, two memorial walls and an ossuary. Two new roads for accessing the new burial sections were constructed using permeable asphalt. The three new columbarium complexes contain rain gardens and bio swales to help mitigate the need for storm water runoff and retention ponds.
Monument and Memorials
Tahoma has a Memorial walkway containing 36 memorials that commemorate soldiers of various 20th century wars, donated by various service organizations. At the northeast corner of the walkway is the POW-MIA flag. At the southwest corner of the walkway is a carillon that was donated by the Navy Fleet reserve Association Seattle branch 18 and was installed in 2010, dedicated to the volunteers of Tahoma National Cemetery.
A Blue Star Memorial is located south of the Public Information Center. The marker was originally part of a banner that families displayed in their homes during the 1940s to signify that they had a loved one fighting in World War II. Today, the marker honors all veterans.
Notable Burials
Sergeant First Class Nathan Ross Chapman -- first American serviceman to die from hostile fire in the war in Afghanistan in 2002. Sergeant Chapman was a communications specialist with the 1st Special Forces Group at Fort Lewis, Wash. (Section 6, Site 33).
Francis Agnes -- former POW (1941 to 1945), survivor of the Bataan Death March, founder of the Tahoma National Cemetery Support Group (Section 24, Site 717).
Phillip F. Smith was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1932, and he graduated from high school in California at 16. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in September 1949 with tours on USCG Cutters Rhododendron, Bering Strait, and Staten Island. On-shore assignments took him to California, Alaska, and Washington; in Washington's 13th Coast Guard District, Smith became one of the first Senior Enlisted Advisors. He served as the Second Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard from 1973 to 1977, when he retired. MCPOCG Smith's advocacy for the Coast Guard's Senior Enlisted Leader program continues to influence the service in the changes he made on behalf of enlisted men. He died June 22, 2017, and is buried in Tahoma National Cemetery (Section 30B, Site 126).
Mary Jean Sturdevant was born September 28, 1921, in Oregon. The high school valedictorian then became one of three women to join the civilian pilot program at Southern Oregon University. Upon graduation she became an instructor and trained Army Air Corps cadets. Sturdevant was accepted into the Women Airforce (sic) Service Pilots (WASP) program but her value as an instructor was more important. Stationed at Merced (CA), she flew Army AT-6s and BT-13s and taught male pilots to fly until the WASP program ended in 1945. In 1977 WASPs were recognized as veterans, and in 2009 they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Pilot Sturdevant died June 24, 2017. She is buried in Tahoma National Cemetery (Section FI, Row B, Niche 3).
Additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahoma_National_Cemetery
Visit the Tahoma National Cemetery Website
