Mayor's Memorial Day Ceremony

The 72nd Annual Mayor's Memorial Day Ceremony will return to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Pūowaina (Punchbowl).

Now celebrated on the last Monday of May, the first form of Memorial Day in the United States began after the Civil War as a day to honor and remember those who made the final full measure of devotion while serving in the Armed Forces. Following WWII, Pūowaina was designated the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with the first Memorial Day Ceremony held within the crater in 1949. Since that first humble ceremony, City and County of Honolulu has been honored to work with numerous veteran, community, and educational organizations to help facilitate this time-honored tradition.