The Punchbowl

The Punchbowl was one of my favorite places to visit. This is the location of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Yes... a cemetery.  I am kind of strange.. I even took a class at UCB, Geography of Religion, which focused on cemeteries. They are fascinating places... so full of history.

The Punchbowl is an extinct volcanic crater which was formed some 75,000-100,000 years ago. The crater was formed as a result of hot lava ejection through cracks in the old coral reefs which were at that time a part of the Koolau Mountain Range.

It is here that a national memorial was erected to those men and women who served in the US Armed Forces. Dedicated on September 2, 1949, this memorial has over 53,000 veterans from WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam Wars interred here along with their family members.

We looked at the tombstones and read names and their positions of many who fought for our country.

As you walk up on the staircase towards the center of the memorial, you see walls filled with names of soldiers who so courageously served our country but their remains were never found.

This memorial honors by name over 28,000 members of the US Armed Forces whose remains were not recovered and identified or are listed as Missing in Action or lost or buried at sea. These are the 10 Courts of the Missing, five walls on each side of the monument staircase.

At the top of the staircase, under the 30 ft sculptured figure of a woman holding a laurel branch is a quote from President Abraham Lincoln to a bereaved mother who lost her five sons during the Civil War.

 Behind the statue, there is a chapel and two map galleries depicting the various wars in mosaic art.

This memorial is beautifully designed. It is a very serene, solemn and sacred place.

I didn't know until after we had left that my good friend E's father-in-law is buried here. He served in WWII and Korean Wars. Wow.. this hits close to home.

I felt that this place was more sacred than the USS Arizona probably because the USS Arizona was so crowded and more touristy than the Punchbowl. At the Punchbowl, we were the only ones here and was one of the last ones out. The groundskeeper had to unchain the gate for us since it was after 5:30.

Definitely a must see on your list of things to do in Oahu.

Still more to come...