HHF In the Field: Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Consulting In the Field – Helping to Protect our Historic Memorials

Historic sites can deteriorate over time as the elements take their toll, especially here in the islands. The well known National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, (known informally as Punchbowl Cemetery) is home to eight Courts of the Missing on which are inscribed the names of the 18,096 American World War II missing from the Pacific and 8,200 American missing from the Korean War.  This important Memorial is visited by thousands each year, many with personal ties to the missing.

The Courts of the Missing stand on either side of the grand stairs leading to the Memorial. Over time, the existing stone walls have been marred by staining, probably from the internal anchor system rusting and oxidized materials migrating to the surface, leaving them discolored and obscuring the names.  Attempts to repair the walls, including painting over the stains, have been short-lived. The paint is peeling and chipping, leaving the walls in disrepair.

The American Battle Monuments Commission* (ABMC) has investigated alternatives for replacing the damaged stones to restore the Courts of the Missing to an appropriate appearance. The project team inspected marble, granite and limestone alternatives from quarries around the world before selected the preferred material. The white limestone closely matches the original appearance of the Memorial. Chemical testing is being conducted to check on the susceptibility to corrosion and staining from weather or oxidation. The project team is also changing the installation technique to minimize the probability of the staining recurring.

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation is a consulting party to ABMC and has the opportunity to review and comment on projects that could affect the historic site. On February 26, HHF participated in a site visit at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific to inspect the proposed limestone that will be used to repair the memorial walls for the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. HHF also had the opportunity to discuss the installation technique and maintenance issues, and to provide a third-party review of the proposed plan.

Our staff was very pleased to report back that the selected material and plan provided an appropriate solution for restoring the Memorial!

We are grateful for the opportunity to consult and support preservation efforts at this important and significant historic Memorial.

*The ABMC is a federal agency responsible for honoring American armed forces where they have served, and for controlling the construction of military monuments and markers on foreign soil by others. ABMC administers, operates and maintains on foreign soil 25 permanent American burial grounds, and 27 separate memorials, monuments and markers, including three memorials in the United States. The Honolulu Memorial (located in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on Oahu) is one of these.