PORT ORCHARD — It was a labor of love, this project to honor veterans who die in Kitsap County and need the help of their fellow veterans to get to a final resting place.

Every Memorial Day, Kitsap veterans escort the unclaimed remains of veterans to Tahoma National Cemetery, in a procession called “The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma.” To honor those deceased veterans, the Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board wanted to memorialize them in some way.

The idea that evolved: An information kiosk with display case containing memorabilia from “The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma” — casings from the 21-gun salute, the brass bell which is sounded at the burial, a touch screen on which visitors can watch slideshows of the ceremony and see what plots the veterans are buried in.

On the wall behind the kiosk would be displayed burial flags in shadow boxes, for each year that a veteran’s remains are escorted to Tahoma. The names of veterans interred that year would be listed on brass nameplates under the flag’s shadow box.

The project was approved by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners and space was set aside for the display in the main foyer of the county administration building.It would be, according to a presentation on the displays, a “permanent place to remind people that there are citizens of this country that did their duty, came home after their enlistment and lived out their lives [here].” It would be a “sacred space,” where visitors could remember, meditate, pray, place flowers.

Volunteers worked on the kiosk for two and a half months, with materials donated by Lowe’s. They stained the case dark cherry to match the shadow boxes that will contain the burial flags displayed on the wall. It was delivered on Oct. 22. The display was to be dedicated on Nov. 22, but it’s likely not going to happen.

County officials have rejected the display case, saying it doesn’t meet the specifications drawn up by an architect and approved by the County Commission.

Veterans Advisory Board vice chairwoman Michelle Hodges said she was told by the county’s superintendent of operations and maintenance that the kiosk doesn’t meet specifications — specifically, it was made of wood instead of Corian anthracite, which has a deep rich charcoal color with a subtle texture, commonly used in countertops.

“They want the builders to take it away. They are being petty,” Hodges said.

Hodges said wood was used because of the expense and because “no one could work with” Corian anthracite.

But in a response to an inquiry from County Commissioner Rob Gelder, county director of information services Bud Harris wrote: “The color and overall appearance of the kiosk does not blend well with the existing wood wall. The end product does not align with what was originally presented.”

On Nov. 10, Gelder said the kiosk was still in place.

“It’s larger than I thought it would be based on a design we saw a long while ago, but I’ve not been in the loop on its design or disposition,” he wrote the Herald.

Harris wrote Gelder that Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Garrido met with the firm that created the original design “and we expect to have the information this week.”

The status of the kiosk — whether it can be modified or has to be rebuilt using other materials — was unknown as of Nov. 13.

Above: The kiosk as designed by Rice Fergus Miller.