The Punchbowl National Cemetery is a quiet place of beauty and reflection where visitors can honor the fallen members of our Nation’s Military.
The “punchbowl” from which the cemetery gets its name was created anywhere from 75,000 to 100,000 years ago by a volcanic blast that left a crater giving the punchbowl its unique shape and name. For thousands of years, ancient Hawaiians called the Punchbowl, Puowaina, which translates to “Hill of Sacrifice” as it was used as an ancient burial ground and place of sacrifice hundreds and even thousands of years ago.
Built in 1948, the 116-acre cemetery just outside of Honolulu is home to more than 25,000 soldiers that fought and perished in numerous engagements around the Pacific from Pearl Harbor, WWII, and Guam.
The Punchbowl is a beauty to behold with its lush shades of manicured green lawns set in stark contrast to the white granite and stonework of the surrounding walls and gravestones. And though many of the graves represent American lives that were sacrificed in war, the Punchbowl National Cemetery echoes serenity with a quiet calming beauty not found in other areas of the bustling island.
A moving experience for any military veteran or visitor to Honolulu, experience the Punchbowl National Cemetery along with other historic military attractions like the USS Bowfin & Missouri with Polynesian Adventure Activities.
