In ancient times, the extinct volcanic Punchbowl Crater was known as Puowaina which means "Consecrated Hill" or "Hill of Sacrifice". It was the site of many secret Royal burials and a place where offenders of certain taboos were sacrificed. Today the cemetery is a memorial to the sacrifice made by the men and women of the United States Armed Services.
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Dedicated on September 2, 1949, 776 casualties from the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were among the first to be buried here.
It's official name is "The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific" and 33,230 service men and women from four wars are buried here. Diamond Head crater can be seen in the background.
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There are 2 Robert Walker's buried here. I get bored and look this kind of stuff up. Hawaiian astronaut Ellison Onizuka, who died aboard the Challenger space shuttle in 1986, is buried here also.
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Look at all the different shades of green you can see in this picture. Hawaii is a very green place from all the rain it gets.
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The Statue of Columbia, a 30-foot tall figure holding a laurel branch. She stands on the bow of a battleship. Columbia dominates the top of the memorial and is a well known landmark in Honolulu. She was in the opening credits every week of the old TV show Hawaii Five-0.
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These words are carved into the base of the monument below the statue of Columbia. The passage comes from a letter President Lincoln wrote a mother who lost several sons in the Civil War.
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The view from where the Columbia Statue is.
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You get some great views from the top of Punchbowl Crater. This is the view looking towards Waikiki and Diamond Head.
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Looking down towards Honolulu.
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A closer view shows you the Hawaii State Capitol Building.
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And this is the view between 2 palm trees as the sun sets over Waikiki Beach after another full day of tours.
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