"Punchbowl Cemetary" or "National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific"

After leaving Pearl Harbor we stopped at the Punchbowl Cemetery. It received its name because it is located in the "punchbowl crater" which was formed by volcanic activity long ago. It is located just north of Honolulu and has a magnificent view.

The children are at the bottom of the staircase and at the base of the grand staircase. The names of 28,788 military personnel who are missing in action or were lost or buried at sea in the Pacific during war are listed on marble slabs in ten Courts of the Missing which flank the Memorial's grand stone staircase. The dedication stone at the base of staircase is engraved with the following words:

IN THESE GARDENS ARE RECORDED

THE NAMES OF AMERICANS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

AND WHOSE EARTHLY RESTING PLACE

IS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD

At the top of the staircase in the Court of Honor is a statue of Lady Columbia, also known as Lady Liberty, or Justice. Here she is reported to represent all grieving mothers. She stands on the bow of a ship holding a laurel branch. The inscription below the statue, taken from Abraham Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby reads:

THE SOLEMN PRIDE

THAT MUST BE YOURS

TO HAVE LAID

SO COSTLY A SACRIFICE

UPON THE ALTAR

OF FREEDOM

Nick is looking at the beautiful mosaic maps of the different wars that have been fought in the Pacific. These maps are not only educational, they are works of art!

Our sweet Andrew pauses to look at a soldier's final resting place.

Ben and I are taking it all in.


Andrew was being so cute. He would hide his hands behind his back and say, "Where did my hands go?"

Then he would pop them out and say, "There they are!" He was too funny!

Saying good-bye to Punchbowl, a beautiful and sacred place.