For Memorial Day weekend, I have photos from a special guest, Kay Hadashi. Kay is a mystery and thriller writer who lives on Oahu and was kind enough to suggest this Memorial Day weekend tribute and sent me her photos of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Some of those interred at the cemetery are well known heroes such as Daniel Inouye, who was America’s second longest sitting senator at the time of his death in 2012. Others, however, remain unknown. Not all of the photos in this collection were taken in the cemetery, but are memorials located elsewhere in Honolulu and seemed appropriate for this photo tour.
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was constructed at Puowaina Crater, which is commonly known as Punchbowl Crater. Information about the cemetery is available from a number of sources, including Wikipedia. It’s been many years since I was able to make it to the cemetery, but Kay’s photos have inspired me to want to visit again. I hope you enjoy this Memorial Day tribute to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
By the way, I’m always on the lookout for good Hawaii photos. If you have some you’d like to share, let me know and we’ll talk about featuring your shots on Friday Fotos!
Hint: you can manually advance through the slides by placing your mouse over the slideshow and clicking the pause button, then use the forward/back buttons to navigate.
Entrance to the Nationa Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu...
One entrance to the National Memorial Cemetery...
Bougainvillea hedges frame much of the cemetery...
In WWII, the 100th Infantry Battalion, which was mostly Japanese-Americans, saw heavy action...
Flowering trees in the vast lawn...
The 442nd Infantry Regiment, primarily Japanese Americans, many of whose families were subject to internment...
The lawn that reaches from the entrance to the plaza
The Military Intelligence Service unit received the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the unit in 2010...
The double-sized headstones are families, husbands and wives or fathers and sons
1399th Engineers Construction Battalion helped in construction to prevent a Japanese attack after Pearl Harbor...
Plumeria flowers cover the lawns in some places, a natural offering of flowers
US Senator Daniel Inouye and his wife Margaret, Medal of Honor and Medal of Freedom recipient...
AF Lieutenant Colonel Ellison Onizuka, Astronaut from the Big Island, perished in the Challenger shuttle disaster...
Ernie Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondant from 1935 through World War II
A marker for one of the unknown soldiers buried here...
Peacefulness is ever-present at Punchbowl...
One of the unknowns from Pearl Harbor who died on December 7, 1941...
Over the years, the numbers of unknown soldiers have lessened, yet many remain...
This plaza surrounds the statue of Lady Columbia, which was built as a memorial to fallen soldiers...
"The solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom"—Abraham Lincoln
At the park adjacent to Hale Koa and Ft. Derussy in Waikiki, a memorial to Japanese Americans that served...
The Eternal Flame War Memorial, dedicated to the men and women of Hawaii that have served in foreign conflicts...
