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National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

1949 establishments in HawaiiBuildings and structures in HonoluluCemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in HawaiiCultural infrastructure completed in 1949Historic American Landscapes Survey in Hawaii
Korean War memorials and cemeteriesMonuments and memorials in HawaiiMonuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in HawaiiNational Register of Historic Places in HonoluluProtected areas of OahuTourist attractions in HonoluluUnited States in the Korean WarUnited States national cemeteriesUse mdy dates from February 2012World War II cemeteriesWorld War II memorials in the United States
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific 2005
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific 2005

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (informally known as Punchbowl Cemetery) is a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii. It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces, and those who have given their lives in doing so. It is administered by the National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Millions of visitors visit the cemetery each year, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hawaii.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Mall Drive South, Honolulu Makiki Kai

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 21.312777777778 ° E -157.84638888889 °
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Address

Mall Drive South

Mall Drive South
98622 Honolulu, Makiki Kai
Hawaii, United States
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National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific 2005
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific 2005
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Punchbowl Crater
Punchbowl Crater

Punchbowl Crater is an extinct volcanic tuff cone located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the location of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. The crater was formed some 75,000 to 100,000 years ago during the secondary activity of the Honolulu Volcanic Series. 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. The volcano is most likely a monogenetic volcano, meaning that it only erupted once. Although there are various translations of the Punchbowl's Hawaiian name, "Pūowaina," the most common is "Hill of Sacrifice." This translation closely relates to the history of the crater. The first known use was as an altar where Hawaiians offered human sacrifices to their gods and killed violators of the many taboos. Later, during the reign of Kamehameha the Great, a battery of two cannons was mounted at the rim of the crater to salute distinguished arrivals and signify important occasions. Early in the 1880s, leasehold land on the slopes of the Punchbowl opened for settlement and in the 1930s, the crater was used as a rifle range for the Hawaii National Guard. Anti-aircraft guns located there were fired during the Japanese attack December 7, 1941. The US Navy built the Nimitz Bowl in 1944 in Punchbowl Crater for USO Hawaii shows and sports. Toward the end of World War II, tunnels were dug through the rim of the crater for the placement of shore batteries to guard Honolulu Harbor and the south edge of Pearl Harbor. 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 a national cemetery. 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.

Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park
Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park

The Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park is a cemetery located in the eastern half of the Honolulu Memorial Park, 22 Craigside Place, Honolulu, Hawaii. Its three-tiered Sanju Pagoda, the Kinkaku-ji Temple, and Mirror Gardens are fine examples of Japanese traditional-style structures and gardens built outside Japan. The gardens were listed in the National Register of Historic Places as site 04000020 on February 11, 2004.Honolulu Memorial Park was established in 1958, and its Buddhist Kinkaku-ji memorial and Sanju Pagoda were constructed between 1964-1966 as part of the Nuʻuanu Memorial Gardens Funerary Home, adjacent to history Oahu Cemetery. This name was changed to Kyoto Gardens in 1966 when the City of Kyoto, Japan, donated a bronze bell, with Abbot Jikai Murakami of Kyoto's Kinkaku-ji present for the opening. The Sanju Pagoda is modeled after the Hokke-ji Temple (Kanji: 南法華寺) in Nara, Japan which was built in the Momoyama Period (1571–1602). The garden replica is built of concrete and steel, and somewhat larger than the original with a height from foundation to rooftop of 80 feet. Including the ku-rin copper spire, its total height is 116 feet. The Kinkaku-ji (Kanji: 金閣寺) columbarium is modeled upon the renowned Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) located on the grounds of the Rokuonji Temple in Kyoto, built in the Muromachi Period (1335–1573). It is three stories tall (38 feet), constructed with steel frame and plaster finish, and with a phoenix finial at its roof peak. Mirror Lake Garden, surrounding Kinkaku-ji, also reflects Muromachi Period (1335–1573) garden design.Both the Sanju Pagoda and Kinkaku-ji serve as columbariums. As of 2006 they were in poor repair, due to the cemetery's financial difficulties.