Punchbowl Crater

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located in the bowl of Pu’owaina, or Punchbowl Crater. Pu’owaina translates to “Hill of Sacrifice” and its believed that the site was used as an altar where Hawaiians offered sacrifices to their gods. Now, though, more than 44,000 US war veterans and their family members are interred there. The cemetery was dedicated on September 2, 1949. 776 casualties from the attack on Pearl Harbor were among the first to be buried there.


The Honolulu Memorial was erected by the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1964 and dedicated in 1966. It honors the sacrifices and achievement of American Armed Forces in the Pacific during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. On the front of the tower which houses the chapel is a 30-foot female figure known as "Columbia" standing on the symbolized prow of a US 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".


To the left of the cemetery is a memorial pathway that is lined with a variety of memorials from various organizations that honor America’s veterans. The pathway leads to the highest point of the crater’s rim, which provides absolutely wonderful views of Honolulu, Diamond Head, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, and eastern mountain ranges.