National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Punchbowl Hawaii

1795 A.D.

One of the most famous battles Kamehameha fought was for control of Oahu. The battle eventually led to Kamehameha gaining control of the entire island chain. The well known story of the battle of Nu’uanu really began at the foot of Punchbowl. It was here, at the four heiau, where the Oahu forces gathered to engage Kamehameha’s army of some 12,000 warriors who had advanced from their landing near Diamondhead. Kamehameha, with cannons mounted on sleds, attacked the defenders around Punchbowl and drove them into Nu’uanu valley. His adversary and ruler of Oahu, Kalanikupule, also had cannons positioned in the back of the valley. However Kamehameha knew this and had sent men to neutralize the guns and fire on the retreating Oahu army. Kalanikupule’s forces were picked apart until they were driven up to the edge of the 800’ cliff at the top of the valley. It is believed over 800 men were driven over the edge to their deaths.

1810 AD to 1870’s AD

During the reign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kamehameha also had two cannons mounted on the rim of Punchbowl for the defense of Honolulu. They would never be used for that purpose and were only fired to announce the arrival of foriegn dignitaries and to mark special occasions. However a U.S. Navy lieutenant noted in 1826 that the battery of cannons on Punchbowl “would be formidable to an enemy in the harbor”. The next four Kings of Hawaii would usher in great changes in the Hawaiian culture as sugar cultivation, religious missionaries and western goods brought the plantation lifestyle and immigrants from across the world to Hawaii.

1881 AD to 1898 AD

By the early 1880’s the slopes of Punchbowl were opened for settlement and houses began to spring up. During the reign of Hawaii’s last king, Kalakaua, there were four guns in place but the fort at the crater’s rim had come under disrepair. In the late 1890’s a committee proposed a cemetery inside Punchbowl crater for the growing population of Honolulu. However it was reject for fear of contaminating the water supply and the idea of a city of the dead above a city of the living was revolting to many.

By 1898 these plantation owners  overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom in what many believed at the time (and still do) was an illegal act of colonization. These land owners would gain control of the legislative branch of Hawaii’s government to annex Hawaii.

Built in 1964 and expanded in 1980, the memorial is located partially on the slope of the interior rim of the crater It sits atop an extensive stone staircase and on either side of the staircase are marble slabs etched with the names of 28,788 military personnel who are missing in action or buried at sea.

The courtyard at the top of the stairs includes a statue, Lady Columbia, also known as Lady Liberty or Lady Justice. She is said to represent all grieving mothers. At the base of the statue is inscribed the words of Abraham Lincoln written in a letter to a mother who lost her sons during the civil war:

THE SOLEMN PRIDE THAT MUST BE YOURS TO HAVE LAID SO COSTLY A SACRIFICE UPON THE ALTAR OF FREEDOM