National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific-Honolulu, Hawaii - Worldwide Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Few national cemeteries can compete with the dramatic natural setting of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. The “Punchbowl” was formed some 75,000 to 100,000 years ago during the Honolulu period of secondary volcanic activity. A crater resulted from the ejection of hot lava through cracks in the old coral reefs which, at the time, extended to the foot of the Koolau Mountain Range.

During the late 1890s, a committee recommended that the Punchbowl become the site for a new cemetery to accommodate the growing population of Honolulu. The idea was rejected for fear of polluting the water supply and the emotional aversion to creating a city of the dead above a city of the living.

Fifty years later, Congress authorized a small appropriation to establish a national cemetery in Honolulu with two provisions: that the location be acceptable to the War Department, and that the site would be donated rather than purchased. In 1943, the governor of Hawaii offered the Punchbowl for this purpose. The $50,000 appropriation proved insufficient, however, and the project was deferred until after World War II. By 1947, Congress and veteran organizations placed a great deal of pressure on the military to find a permanent burial site in Hawaii for the remains of thousands of World War II servicemen on the island of Guam awaiting permanent burial. Subsequently, the Army again began planning the Punchbowl cemetery; in February 1948 Congress approved funding and construction began.

Prior to the opening of the cemetery for the recently deceased, the remains of soldiers from locations around the Pacific Theater—including Wake Island and Japanese POW camps—were transported to Hawaii for final interment. The first interment was made Jan. 4, 1949. The cemetery opened to the public on July 19, 1949, with services for five war dead: an unknown serviceman, two Marines, an Army lieutenant and one civilian—noted war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Initially, the graves at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific were marked with white wooden crosses and Stars of David—like the American cemeteries abroad—in preparation for the dedication ceremony on the fourth anniversary of V-J Day. Eventually, over 13,000 soldiers and sailors who died during World War II would be laid to rest in the Punchbowl. Now 33,259 are buried here.

City, Town, or Parish / State / Country: Not listed Approximate number of graves: Not listed Cemetery Status: Active Cemetery Website: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   02/01/2024 Don.Morfe visited it 10/06/2023 Desafio visited it 01/11/2019 madill visited it 05/15/2018 HM63 visited it 01/31/2018 2 Sonians visited it 11/30/2017 Lestiv visited it 10/25/2017 MountainWoods visited it 02/09/2017 petendot visited it 08/04/2016 denben visited it 05/16/2015 KennyV visited it 05/16/2015 KennyV visited it 04/13/2015 DopeyDuck visited it 01/27/2014 dkestrel visited it 01/26/2014 DocDTA visited it 07/02/2012 fresgo visited it 01/25/2011 unimoggers visited it 11/25/2010 redheadsrule visited it 07/11/2010 NickTnReb visited it 02/13/2010 CHI-TOWN ROMEO visited it 12/10/2009 model12 visited it 05/05/2009 ODragon visited it 02/09/2009 3Bobs visited it 06/27/2008 paulspaper visited it 06/24/2008 GA Cacher visited it 11/24/2007 Queens Blessing visited it

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