The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, not far from downtown Honolulu. It is the final resting ground for more than 44,000 United States war veterans (and their family members), more than half of whom died in the Pacific arena during World War II. The cemetery sits in an extinct volcano called Pouwaina and is referred to in Hawaii as “Punchbowl” because of its shape. Roughly translated, “Puowaina” means “Consecrated Hill” or “Hill of Sacrifice.”
Historians say the first known use of Puowaina was as an altar where early Hawaiians offered sacrifices to their gods. Today, the 112- acre cemetery is a memorial to the men and women of the United States Armed Services who gave their lives defending our country in World War II (776 casualties from the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were among the first to be buried here), the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recently, the war against terrorism. It is also the final resting place of Hawaii’s first astronaut, Ellison Onizuka, who perished in the Challenger explosion.
The cemetery serves as one of the nation’s two honored resting places in the Pacific. (The American Military Cemetery at Manila is the other.) The grounds are also home to the Honolulu Memorial, a commemorative structure, which includes a staircase flanked by the ten “Courts of the Missing.” Etched on its walls are the names of 26,280 American soldiers, each was recorded as missing, lost or buried at sea. At the top of the marble staircase, overlooking the entire cemetery is a 30-foot female figure known as “Columbia.” She symbolizes all grieving mothers and stands on the symbolized prow of a U.S. Navy carrier with a laurel branch in her left hand and the inscription by President Lincoln “…The Solemn Pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”
Each Memorial Day volunteers flank more than 38,000 graves with flower lei made by school children from across the state. It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1950’s. As a child growing up in Hawaii, I remember making hundreds of lei in class and watching them being boxed up for delivery to decorate the graves at Punchbowl. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I made my first trip to the cemetery. Ironically, it was on Memorial Day, as a reporter for a local television station covering the day’s ceremonies. I mention this because whether you are a local or a visitor to Hawaii, the National Memorial of the Pacific is a place you should seriously consider visiting. Spend a few hours and learn about history of the Pacific Campaign’s of World War II. Take time from your vacation to pause and reflect on the efforts made by the thousands of men and women whose lives were tragically cut short battling enemy forces.
The Cemetery is open seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is truly a remarkable and moving venue that provides you with the opportunity to help honor the servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice securing the freedoms we enjoy today.