Question: Can you find out where exactly U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye is buried at Punchbowl? I read an article in the Star-Advertiser recently that said he’s buried “near other veterans of his World War II unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.” At his services, someone said he was supposed to be buried near his first wife. Did that happen? I believe he was cremated and his ashes were in an urn. Normally, urns are in a niche area.
Answer: The location of anyone buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl, or any national cemetery, is public record.
Just type in the name in the “Nationwide Gravesite Locator,” gravelocator.cem.va.gov.
When you type in Inouye’s name and click on “National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,” the following information is given:
INOUYE, DANIEL KEN/CAPT 442 INF REGT US ARMY/SSGT SN: 30106416 US ARMY/WORLD WAR II/DATE OF BIRTH: 09/07/1924/DATE OF DEATH: 12/17/2012/BURIED AT: SECTION D SITE 391-A.
His first wife, Margaret “Maggie”Inouye, who died in 2006, is also buried in Section D, Site 391-A.
You can click on a link to a map showing where the different burial sections are at the cemetery. Section D is along Mall Drive South, at the top left side near the intersection with Inner Drive, fronting the monument area.
There are kiosks in the Punchbowl office and visitors center where staff can print the same information, said Nadine Siak, spokeswoman for Punchbowl.
She also pointed out that some people do have the ashes of loved ones buried in the ground rather than placed in a niche in the columbaria.
Punchbowl Niches:Policy Change
After hearing concerns about fading inscriptions on marble niche covers at Punchbowl, the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided it no longer will allow using the paintlike substance Lithochrome to enhance inscriptions in new cemeteries or new sections of established cemeteries.
The VA chose to use Lithochrome more than 30 years ago to enhance the appearance of niche covers and other markers, Siak said.
“After many years of experience, however, (the) VA has regretfully learned that Lithochrome eventually fades, with widely varying rates of fading even on niche covers that were placed side by side on similar dates,” she said.
It was felt the inconsistent look of fading Lithochrome visibly detracted from “the shrinelike appearance” sought to honor the nation’s veterans. The Lithochrome on previously installed covers at Punchbowl will be allowed to fade naturally and will not be repainted.
Siak said once the Lithochrome completely fades, the marble will return to its natural state. The inscriptions are still legible from a distance, just not as vividly as before, she said.
Inscriptions on new niche covers will be “completely natural and uniformly pigment-free” — a look that the Lithochrome-enhanced niche covers eventually will reach, she said.
“Ultimately the Lithochrome-free policy will result in a uniform appearance within all national cemeteries,” Siak said.
Anyone with questions or concerns can call the cemetery office at 532-3720.
Auwe
To the couple in the green minivan who parked along Kalanianaole Highway in Hawaii Kai, using a mango picker to pick mangoes from trees in the backyard of homes that line Hanakapiai Street. I saw you use your long picker to reach far into people’s property to snatch the fruit. It is one thing to pick fruit hanging over the wall on the Kalanianaole side, but to reach into people’s yards is stealing. — Concerned Citizen
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