Punch Bowl Cemetery

In 1948 a memorial to those who perished from the attacks on Pearl Harbor was built in Honolulu Hawaii. It was designed and built into the Pu'owaina Crater which means Hill of Sacrifice. The dedication is considered one of the most touching, and also one of the most beautiful of all American burial sites. The National Memorial Cemetery in Oahu, also known as the Punchbowl Memorial, is one of the must-see Oahu attractions when visiting the island.

The dedication ceremony for the Punchbowl National Cemetery commenced in September of 1949, a tearful tribute to the almost 8,000 men who perished in the attacks on the opposite end of  Oahu. Punchbowl Honolulu also honors and pays tribute to casualties from Korea, Vietnam and World War II as well as their families. The number of Punchbowl Memorial grave sites now totals more than 33,000.

There are also maps provided of the different war areas to get a better picture of exactly where events of the fateful days occurred as well as military branch history. Particularly compelling is the wall honoring those that remained missing in action, totaling more than 22,000 people, each of their names etched into the wall.

Throughout the Punchbowl Honolulu grounds there is a host of meaningful statues and stones etched with weighty, somber words. The statue of Lady Columbia sits abreast of the building that overlooks the vast cemetery grounds, comprising more than 110 acres. Lady Columbia is a symbol of all the despairing mothers of those who perished at Pearl Harbor. Carved along the bottom of the statue is the sobering phrase The Solemn Pride That Must Be Yours To Have Laid So Costly a Sacrifice Upon the Altar of Freedom.

We had heard a lot about this place, but yet to visit.  So while the Filler's were here we thought we'd check it out.  It was really a neat place.  The kids really liked it as well.