National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

GPS Coordinates: 21.312433, -157.846122
County:
Record count: 65,927

Ownership: National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Directions: Located inside "Punchbowl Crater", just north-east of the downtown Honolulu.

Background: The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, located in the Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii, was established after World War II to provide a final resting place for thousands of Pacific Theater servicemen. Though the crater was once used for ancient Hawaiian rituals and military purposes, Congress approved funding in 1948 following growing pressure to honor fallen WWII soldiers. The cemetery's first interment occurred on January 4, 1949, and it officially opened to the public on July 19, 1949. Over 13,000 World War II dead were eventually buried there. In 1976, the cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places and became the first to install Bicentennial Medal of Honor headstones. Notable updates include replacing markers for unknown Pearl Harbor victims in 2001 and 2002 to honor USS Arizona crew members. The Punchbowl remains a prominent site for remembrance and receives over five million visitors annually.

Transcriptions

We have 2 transcriptions for this cemetery.

• Unidentified Burials, compiled by Interment.net, April 17, 2025, (2,326 records)
• Veterans Affairs Database, compiled by Interment.net, April 17, 2025, (63,601 records)