Honolulu Memorial Expands to Honor Vietnam War Battles

To honor members of the U.S. armed forces that fought during the Vietnam War, ABMC is building two new pavilions at its Honolulu Memorial, which is located within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. One of the two pavilions will include Vietnam War battle maps to complement the existing World War II and Korean War battle maps. “U.S. military operations in Vietnam ended nearly 50 years ago. I’m proud to be part of a project that completes the commemoration of that service and sacrifice within this magnificent federal monument,” said ABMC Secretary Max Cleland. The other pavilion will serve as an orientation center for the entire memorial.

Currently, the memorial includes the names of more than 26,000 that went missing during World War II and the Korean War, and the names of 2,504 that went missing during the Vietnam War. The courts of the missing, which include the names of these service members, line the staircase leading to the memorial chapel. At the top of the stairs, the chapel is flanked by galleries containing mosaic battle maps and descriptions of American armed forces achievements in the Pacific and Korea.

The two new pavilions will be located next to the existing flag poles, at the top of the staircase. In addition, the project also includes providing exterior illumination to the pavilions, repairing existing walkway areas, and improving handicap accessibility to the entire memorial. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded this construction contract, which is expected to be complete by November 2012. The lead architect and designer for this project is Fung Associates, Inc. of Honolulu.

The Honolulu Memorial, dedicated in 1966, was built to honor those missing in action from World War II's Pacific theater and the Korean War. The original construction included battle maps from these wars. In 1980 the memorial was expanded to bear the names of missing service members from the Vietnam War, but Vietnam War battle maps were not included at that time.