Unclaimed remains of veteran to be transported from Lewis County to Tahoma National Cemetery, coroner says 

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office will transport the unclaimed cremated remains of U.S. Army veteran Larry Givens to Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent on Friday, Nov. 1.

Givens was born Jan. 1, 1943, and died Nov. 6, 2023, in Centralia, according to eCare Mortuary. He was 80 years old.

A procession, escorted by the Patriot Guard, will leave from the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis at 9:30 a.m. An interment service that includes a chaplain, honor guard and a member of the U.S. Army to fold and present the flag will begin at 12:30 p.m.

The public is invited to join the procession and attend the ceremony.

“I would like to thank the Veterans Museum, The Lewis County Marine League, LC Jeepers and everyone else who has helped put this event together,” Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said in a news release.

Last year, the coroner's office laid to rest the unclaimed remains of four U.S. military veterans at the Tahoma National Cemetery. They were Frederick A. Clough III, Robert E. Larson, Michael E. Damis and Russel L. Welk.

American Legion Post 99 Commander Rob Huntsinger delivered a eulogy for Clough, Damis, Larson and Welk in November 2023.

“Because of veterans like them, our lives are free, our nation lives, and the principles of freedom, justice and democracy survive as they have for over 240 years … When our country called, Frederick, Michael, Robert and Russel did not shirk their responsibilities,” Huntsinger said.

Read the full story from 2023 here.