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Aloha ... and welcome to the Circle Island Tour. Before we get underway, if this is your
first tour of Hawaii, you might want to look at some basic information about
Hawaiian words.
I'll be your guide. The first thing I should point out is that this will be a slightly
untypical circle of Oahu. Instead of heading toward Diamond Head to the east and hugging
the coast along the eastern end of the island, we'll actually head in the Ewa direction
(west) to the new H-3 Interstate that cuts across the island to about the middle of the
windward side. We'll leave the eastern-most end of the island until tomorrow when we'll take
the Windward Oahu Tour. A circle tour that included that section that we'll bypass today
would make the tour just awfully long. Especially if you poked around in Waikiki until late
last evening, you'd probably give out on us about halfway through the tour. But if you're at
all disappointed in our not making a full circle of the island, we'll give you free
ticket to take the Windward Tour.
Click here for a
note
about your comfort on the tour.
- 1.
Leaving Waikiki
- We'll head toward the back of Waikiki, drive along the Ala Wai Canal for a short stretch,
travel past the downtown area in the westerly direction, and then get on the expressway. On
the canal there is a group of rowers today. It's an excellent place for rowing because it's
straight, long, and sheltered, and there are no motorboat wakes to contend with.
- 2.
Punchbowl National Cemetery
- Turning right off of our main route and winding our way uphill toward the landmark
promontory known as "Punchbowl" (the name deriving from its punch bowl shape), we
approach Puowaina Crater containing both the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
and the Honolulu Memorial. "Puowaina" means "consecrated hill" or "hill of sacrifice,"
and in early Hawaii the crater was the site of secret royal burials -- also the place
where those who broke certain taboos were sacrificed.
Punchbowl is one of two cemeteries in the Pacific for the World War II dead (the other is
the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines). It first came under the jurisdiction
of the War Department of the U.S. Army. In 1993, jurisdiction was transferred to the
Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs).
- Climbing gradually along the outside wall of the crater, we enter the park (photo on
the left). A little farther ahead (photo on the right) we enter the cemetery grounds.
The wide open space ahead is the cemetery, and beyond that is the memorial.
- The first interments at the cemetery were in January, 1949 and included 776 casualties
from the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Original burials included 13,676
World War dead. Later burials included 176 Wake Island dead and 848 U.S. servicemen
who died in Korea. 33,230 gravesites, including those of 51 Medal of Honor recipients,
now fill Punchbowl to capacity. Since 1991, burials have been at the Hawaii State
Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe (Windward Oahu Tour) here in Hawaii.
- In addition to the cemetery and memorial, Punchbowl contains a committal court and
collumbarium constructed in 1981 and a Honolulu overlook area constructed in 1988.
The photo on the left shows the approach to the overlook.
Monuments with plaques line the walkway (middle photo). Ahead is the outlook (photo on
right above).
- Close to the lookout we look a little to the left at the Koolau Mountains in the
distance (photo at the right). Punchbowl is indeed lushly situated, and the cemetery
is calm and splendid in the green of grass and foliage. The walls of the crater also
make it very private, and the elevation obvious at the lookout lends a commanding feel
to the site.
- The photo at the left shows the city viewed from the lookout. At the lookout is a
small monument (photo in the middle). Walking back down to the crater floor, we view
the cemetery (photo on the right).
- Scanning a little to the left we see the Honolulu Memorial (photo on the left) high on
the crater wall. The memorial was constructed by the American Battle Monuments Commission
in 1964 to honor American Armed Forces in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean
Conflict. Overlooking the cemetery, it consists of a chapel, two map galleries depicting
World War II and Korean Conflict battle sites, a monumental staircase that we saw upon
our entry to the grounds, 10 Courts of the Missing (massive marble walls engraved with
18,094 names), and a dedicatory stone. As we descend, people are seen on the hillside
(middle photo). At the right is a last look out over the cemetery before we leave to
continue our circle tour of the island. For visitors to Hawaii, Punchbowl is a popular,
educational, and important place to visit.
- 3.
Bishop Museum
- Ten minutes farther along on the tour is the Bishop Museum on the right side of the
expressway. This is Hawaii's premier museum, complete with a variety of exhibits, Hawaiian
artifacts, and a planetarium.
- This is the place to come for anything about Hawaiian history and culture. The old bluestone
main building houses most of the exhibits, and it lends a genuine feeling of authenticity and
permanence to the museum.
- 4.
Moanalua Gardens
- Not far ahead on the expressway is Moanalua Gardens. This is a large private estate open to
the public. It is owned by the Damon family, one of the "Big Five" landowners in Hawaii.
The park is seldom any busier than it is today. There are no swings for children, barbeque
pits, or picnic tables that might draw more people, but the open grass areas and incredible
trees are all this excellently maintained park needs.
- 5.
Tripler Army Hospital
- Quite close to Moanalua Gardens but much higher is the Tripler Army Hospital. The photo
shows its size, but its even larger than this. Being so large, high, and unobstructed, and
painted pink, from five miles or so away it is still impressive.
- The hospital dates from 1920 when the Department Hospital, Territory of Hawaii, at nearby
Fort Shafter was renamed after the late Brig. Gen. Charles Stuart Tripler, a veteran of
three wars (including the Florida Seminole War in 1835) and author of the very popular
"Manual of the Medical Officer of the Army of the United States" and later "Handbook of the
Military Surgeon." During World War II, 1,800 to 1,900 patients from all branches of the
armed services were cared for daily at Tripler. Between 1944 and 1948, the building shown
at the right, the tallest building in Hawaii at the time, was completed on Alewa Heights
at a cost of $41 million. It consisted of 1.6 million square feet and contained 563 beds
with an expansion capacity of 1,100 beds. The hospital became even more prominent later
during the Korean War and the Vietnam conflict.
- Known affectionately as the "Pink Palace," Tripler is the premier health care facility
for American military personnel and veterans across the Pacific. Although it is an Army
hospital, it continues its partnership with all branches of the military. During its long
hisory, Tripler has had many well-known visitors, including...
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Shirley Temple, Al Jolson, Bob Hope,
Joe DiMaggio, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Art Linkletter, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, John Wayne,
Esther Williams, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Burl Ives, Richard M. Nixon, George
Burns, Jack Benny, Gerald R. Ford, Gary Cooper, Jackie Cooper, Robert Kennedy, Dinah Shore,
Ge. William C. Westmoreland, Eva Gabor, Billy Graham, Hubert H. Humphrey, Zsa Zsa Gabor,
Willie Mays, Omar Bradley, Patsy Cline, Raymond Burr, and many others.
- 6.
Interstate Highway 3
- 7.
Kaneohe
- 8.
Sugar Mill Ruins
- 9.
Windward Ocean Drive
- 10.
Kahana Bay
- 11.
Chinaman's Hat
- 12.
Kokololio Beach Park.
- After crossing through the mountains to the windward (eastern) side of the island and
traveling up along the coast, we pass a number of very attractive and uncongested roadside
parks. This is Kokololio Beach Park near Laie.
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