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a must-visit in Oahu
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific sits in an old volcanic crater above Honolulu and has stunning views of the city and its environs. Two features were particularly striking to me. First, the names of 28,788 military personnel who are missing in action or were lost or buried at sea in the Pacific during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam are listed on marble slabs in ten Courts of the Missing that flank the memorial's grand stone staircase. My great-uncle, who went down on the submarine USS Wahoo (oh, the irony) off the coast of Japan in 1943, is among them. Second, at the top of the stairs are open-air galleries featuring 12 4x10 foot maps made of tinted mosaic concrete and crushed colored glass that depict major operations in the Pacific theater during these conflicts.
Apparently this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hawaii, but I'd never heard of it until a friend who lives on Oahu told me about it, and there was absolutely nobody there when we visited one evening.
Posted: 03/19/2026 at 07:02 AM ET
Thread Replies (13)
a must-visit in Oahu
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-- HokieMacDaddy
Mar 19, 2026 at 07:02 AM ET
HokieMacDaddy
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03/19/26 07:02 AM ET
...try the (intra WW) game...
-- bourbonstreet
Mar 19, 2026 at 03:32 PM ET
bourbonstreet
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03/19/26 03:32 PM ET
I own it, looks amazing.
-- Chris Coleman
Mar 20, 2026 at 09:34 AM ET
Chris Coleman
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03/20/26 09:34 AM ET
Eye do understand... it is not small on how deep you gotta go.
-- bourbonstreet
Mar 20, 2026 at 04:02 PM ET
bourbonstreet
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03/20/26 04:02 PM ET
Apparently the Grigsby crew is working on a new Pacific game.
-- Chris Coleman
Mar 20, 2026 at 06:49 PM ET
Chris Coleman
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03/20/26 06:49 PM ET
oh really? WWII? (and dang... he's still here?) As he goes back to the O.G.
-- bourbonstreet
Mar 20, 2026 at 09:04 PM ET
bourbonstreet
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03/20/26 09:04 PM ET
Sounds good, might pick that up.**
-- Freddyburg Hokie
Mar 19, 2026 at 12:26 PM ET
Freddyburg Hokie
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03/19/26 12:26 PM ET
If you like naval history, there are two that I would recommend...
-- Chris Coleman
Mar 19, 2026 at 12:51 PM ET
Chris Coleman
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03/19/26 12:51 PM ET
Massie's an interesting writer
-- mancunian
Mar 20, 2026 at 08:44 AM ET
mancunian
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03/20/26 08:44 AM ET
I just started this, this week... ***** stars... and it is only one of 2 or
-- bourbonstreet
Mar 19, 2026 at 03:37 PM ET
bourbonstreet
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03/19/26 03:37 PM ET
Famous WW2 correspondent Ernie Pyle is interred here...amazing place.**
-- DoYouLiftHokies
Mar 19, 2026 at 09:54 AM ET
DoYouLiftHokies
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03/19/26 09:54 AM ET
I got to see his memorial on Iejima where he was killed.
-- SDHokie
Mar 19, 2026 at 09:58 AM ET
SDHokie
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03/19/26 09:58 AM ET