The Department of Veterans Affairs said it plans "to further notify the public" of available in-ground grave sites at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl after veterans groups said they were never told about an unprecedented number of open burial spots.
"We are puzzled and disturbed that these casketed gravesites were not made known to us," William Thompson, president of the 442nd Veterans Club, said in a Dec. 31 letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
The veterans group said it had no idea, until recently, that the grave sites were open.
For more than two decades, veterans were told that Punchbowl was at capacity for in-ground burials.
After becoming aware of the open grave sites in the fall, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono said she and her staff worked with the VA to address this issue.
"Secretary Shinseki’s leadership has been critical in helping to resolve this situation at Punchbowl. Our conversation was productive, and today’s announcement is good news," Hirono said in a statement Friday. "The decision to publicly announce the availability of in-ground sites helps honor those who served in the United States Armed Forces and those who have given their lives in doing so. These brave men and women and their families deserve no less."
The VA said it originally publicized the availability of in-ground grave sites at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific last summer "by taking the unprecedented step of notifying Oahu-area funeral homes."
But the VA said it never informed veterans service organizations, which have the closest ties to former service members, because it feared that local demand would quickly overcome availability.
That did not happen, the VA admitted. Of the 99 in-ground graves that were available earlier this month, 63 would accommodate a full-casket burial, the VA said. The remaining 36 represented 3-by-3-foot plots for cremated remains.
The VA’s National Cemetery Administration "is not ‘reopening’ the cemetery to in-ground interments of casketed and cremated remains, as the current availability of in-ground gravesites is anticipated to be temporary," the VA said in a release.
The VA said it now "believes continued outreach efforts are consistent with (the) mission to offer all burial options to as many veterans as possible throughout the nation."
The VA said it plans to notify the following veterans organizations of the grave-site openings and is asking for additional groups that may be relevant:
» VFW Post 1540, Honolulu Post
» VFW Post 8616 Diamond Head Post
» VFW Post 10154 Windward Post
» VFW Post 10276 Fort Shafter Post
» American Legion Post 1, Oahu
» Disabled American Veterans Honolulu Oahu Chapter 1
» 442nd Veterans Club
» Local Knights of Columbus, Honolulu
» 100th Infantry Battalion Club
The graves have become available through the ongoing disinterment and identification of Korean War "unknowns," families relinquishing plots and the removal of dead trees on the cemetery’s grounds, which has freed up burial space.
The VA said it "is actively gathering contact information" for veteran service organizations on the neighbor islands. "VA is also confirming contact information of Oahu-area funeral homes and seeks to establish contact with outer island funeral homes," it said.
Upon the death of a veteran, the cemetery administration will assign a Punchbowl grave site as long as the newly available space remains, the VA said.
Funeral homes or families can contact the cemetery directly at 532-3720 or inquire with the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 to inquire about availability at the time of scheduling the burial. The VA said Punchbowl remains open to inurnment requests to inter cremated remains in columbarium niches.
