National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific lies in an extinct volcano near the center of Honolulu, on Puowaina Drive, and the Department of Veterans Affairs administers it. The crater is the Punchbowl, and its Hawaiian name, Puowaina, is usually translated as Hill of Sacrifice. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Honolulu Memorial stands within the cemetery, and on either side of the grand stairs leading to it, courts of the missing carry the names of Americans missing from World War II in the Pacific (outside the southwest Pacific) and from the Korean War, while half courts at the foot of the staircase list Americans missing from the Vietnam War. At the top of the stairs is a chapel flanked by galleries of mosaic maps. The Honolulu Memorial is free to visit with no booking, and the visitor center is on the left before the main gate on Puowaina Drive. To find a grave, search the VA's online Nationwide Gravesite Locator before you go. The American Battle Monuments Commission asks visitors to the Honolulu Memorial to conduct themselves with the utmost respect and solemnity. Fresh cut flowers in metal, not glass, containers may be placed on graves, as may fruit and non-alcoholic drinks, and staff sweep the cemetery of flowers every Friday. Glass objects, balloons, pinwheels, wind chimes, stuffed toys and similar items are not permitted, visitors may not do their own grave maintenance, such as cutting grass or painting markers, and weapons are prohibited on VA property.