National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a burial site for men and women of the US armed forces located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The cemetery fills the crater left by an extinct volcano; this gives the cemetery its unofficial name, the Punchbowl. Tens of thousands of American veterans are buried there, along with several civil servants, astronauts, and others who made some contribution to the United States. In addition to burial sites, the cemetery also houses numerous memorials to those who fought and died in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, including the many members of the military whose bodies were never recovered.

Background

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific occupies the center of the crater left by a volcano that became extinct and inactive many years ago. Known as the Puowaina Crater, the massive depression was formed between 75,000 and 100,000 years ago when lava broke through cracks in ancient coral reefs. This was part of a second phase of volcanic activity that occurred over what are sometimes known as hot spots, or large pockets of molten rock that spill out of the earth’s core. The first wave of activity formed the basis of the Hawaiian Islands. Later volcanic outbursts formed some of the islands’ characteristic formations, including the famed Diamond Head area and Puowaina.

The most commonly accepted translation of Puowaina is “Hill of Sacrifice.” Hawaiians gave it this name because they used the area to offer human sacrifices to their gods. Prehistoric residents of the islands worshipped a number of pagan gods. People were often brought to Puowaina to be killed either to appease these gods or as punishment for violating a religious taboo.

In the eighteenth century, during the reign of Kamehameha the Great (1758–1819), the site began to take on different significance. The Hawaiian leader had cannons mounted on the crater’s rim and fired them to celebrate important occasions and honor visiting dignitaries. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, land along the slope of the crater was leased for small settlements. About this time, the crater was proposed as the site of a new civilian cemetery for the increasing population of Honolulu. People voiced concern that a cemetery there could pollute the water supply, however, and many were uncomfortable with having a large burial area rise so prominently above the city. The proposal was abandoned.

Part of the area in the center of the crater served as a rifle range for Hawaii’s National Guard during the 1930s. In the next decade, the military used the edge of the crater to house defensive gun positions to protect Honolulu and Pearl Harbors. At about this same time, the US government was looking for a site in Hawaii to establish a national military cemetery. The stipulations placed on the site included that it had to be acceptable to the War Department and it had to be donated. The State of Hawaii offered the Puowaina crater, but the $50,000 funding allocation from Congress was not enough to cover the work needed on the 112-acre site and plans were set aside.

The aftermath of World War II (1939–1945) reignited interest in a national cemetery in Hawaii. The American government and military were under increased pressure to find burial sites for the thousands of Americans who died overseas during battles in the Pacific Theater, including those in Guam, Wake Island, Iwo Jima, and for individuals who had been held in Japanese prisoner of War (POW) camps. This pressure led to the release of additional funding in 1948, and construction on the cemetery began. The first burial was an unknown serviceman killed in the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. He was laid to rest on January 4, 1949. Nearly ten thousand service members were interred in the cemetery in the next two and a half months, and almost two thousand more in June. The cemetery opened to the public with five services on July 19, 1949. It was formally dedicated on September 2, 1949.

Overview

The bowl-shaped depression that includes the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific includes 112 acres of trees and greenery interspersed with rows of flat white granite markers. A pathway through the cemetery allows access to the more than seventy memorials placed throughout it to remember specific conflicts or groups.

One of the largest is the Honolulu Memorial. Built by the American Battle Monuments Commission, the memorial was dedicated in 1966 to the accomplishments and sacrifices of members of the military who served in the Pacific Theater of World War II and during the Korean War (1950–1953). Additions to the memorial in 1980 and 2012 expanded it to include the accomplishments and losses of those who served in the Vietnam War (1955–1975). A large staircase leading to the memorial passes through eight courts that are inscribed with more than 28,800 names of those missing in action during these three wars.

The cemetery includes a number of graves of unknown servicemen and women killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the early part of the twenty-first century, after science developed ways to identify remains using DNA, a number of these formerly unknown fallen were identified and reinterred.

The national cemetery and the 34,000 graves it includes are under the authority of the National Cemetery Administration. The administration sets the rules for who is eligible for burial in the cemetery. Burial is available to members of the armed forces who meet minimum service terms and who were not dishonorably discharged. Spouses, widows or widowers, dependent children, and some disabled adult children of veterans are also eligible. Some members of the military reserve forces may also be eligible. Both casket burials and the interment of cremated remains in a monument known as a columbarium are available.

In addition to all of the service members that are interred in the National Cemetery of the Pacific, several other people of note are also buried there. These include World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle; Congresswoman Patsy Mink; Senators Spark Matsunaga and Daniel K. Inouye, both veterans; and astronauts Charles Lacy Veach and Ellison Shoji Onizuka, both Air Force veterans. Onizuka died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986. Stanley Dunham, a World War II veteran and the maternal grandfather who raised President Barack Obama, is also buried there.

Bibliography

“Facts About Punchbowl National Cemetery.” Pearl Harbor Visitors Bureau, visitpearlharbor.org/facts-punchbowl-national-cemetery/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

“Honolulu Memorial.” American Battle Monuments Commission, www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/americas/honolulu-memorial. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

Miller, Andy Beth. “National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.” Hawaii.com, www.hawaii.com/oahu/attractions/national-memorial-cemetery-of-the-pacific/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

“National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.” National Cemetery Administration, 21 June 2019, www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/nmcp.asp. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

“National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.” National Register of Historic Places Program, National Park Service, www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/AD‗76002276‗06‗18‗2014.htm. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

“National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.” U.S. News & World Report, travel.usnews.com/Honolulu‗Oahu‗HI/Things‗To‗Do/National‗Memorial‗Cemetery‗of‗the‗Pacific‗Punchbowl‗53218/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

“Nearly 8 Decades After His Death, USS Oklahoma Sailor is Buried at Punchbowl.” Hawaii News Now, 25 Sept. 2019, www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/09/26/nearly-decades-after-his-death-uss-oklahoma-sailor-is-buried-punchbowl/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.

“Puowaina (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific).” Historic Hawaii Foundation, 19 Feb. 2014, historichawaii.org/2014/02/19/puowaina-national-memorial-cemetery-of-the-pacific/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2019.