National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

On Memorial Day, I went to the mayor's annual event at The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It is located in a volcanic crater in Honolulu. The crater is called Punchbowl and has been a distinguished place throughout history. Here is a little info about the location from their website.

Although there are various translations of the Punchbowl’s Hawaiian name, “Puowaina,” 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 pagan gods and the 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.

Each one of the grave sites was decorated with a flag and a real flower lei for Memorial Day.

21 gun salute

A flyover in the the missing man formation.

All fifty state flags were brought out and lined the steps of the memorial. 

The light colored walls behind the flags in the last three pictures are the Courts of the Missing. On these walls are engraved the names of 28,778 American heroes.  Each of them was Missing in Action, lost, or buried at sea in the Pacific during World War II.

A statue of Lady Columbia, also known as Lady Liberty, or Justice. Here she is reported to represent all grieving mothers. She stands on the bow of a ship holding a laurel branch. The inscription below the statue, taken from Abraham Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby, reads:

THE SOLEMN PRIDE

THAT MUST BE YOURS

TO HAVE LAID

SO COSTLY A SACRIFICE

UPON THE ALTAR

OF FREEDOM

Mosaics describing battles fought in the Pacific.

At the top of the crater wall looking over the cemetery.  

The view out shows all of Honolulu. The square building in the middle with the tall pillars is the state capital building. 

In the background is Diamond Head.