Honolulu Memorial To Dedicate Vietnam Pavilions On Veterans Day 2012
The Honolulu Memorial is the only federal memorial to the Vietnam War built solely on federal funds
To further honor the 2,504 members of the armed forces missing in action from the Vietnam War who are already memorialized in the Honolulu Memorial, the American Battle Monuments Commission, in coordination with the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific will dedicate two new pavilions and mosaic maps.
The dedication will take place on the grounds of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on Veteran’s Day, Sunday, November 11, starting at 10:00 a.m. Hawaiian time.
The Honolulu Memorial was originally established by the American Battle Monuments Commission as a tribute to the armed forces in the Pacific during World War II and Korea. It includes the names of 18,096 individuals lost at sea or missing in action from World War II and another 8,200 names of lost or missing soldiers from the Korean War. In 1980, the memorial grew to include the 2,504 soldiers missing from the Vietnam War.
The design and planning of the project began in 2009. Actual construction began last May. Constructed by Armbruster Company of Glenview, Ill two mosaic maps (costing $523,000) depict the overall theater of the Vietnam War and the sites of major battles fought during that era.
The Honolulu Memorial is the only federal memorial to the Vietnam War built solely on federal funds.
The new maps will be housed in one of two elegant pavilions constructed from Travertine stone quarried from Idaho. The second pavilion will provide an orientation to the Honolulu Memorial while housing porcelain panels depicting commemorative battle sites in the Pacific.
