NATIONAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC, also known as PUNCHBOWL, is the resting place of more than 25,000 people who served in one or more of three American wars. This 112-acre cemetery lies in the middle of an extinct volcano called PŪOWAINA CRATER. (In Hawaiian, the word pūowaina means, “consecrated hill,” or “hill of sacrifice.”)
The cemetery pays homage to American citizens who sacrificed their lives in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Courts of the Missing — white stone tablets that bear the names of WWII soldiers missing in action — also graces the cemetery. In addition, the cemetery is known as the site of secret Hawaiian royalty burials.
