Work on the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl began in August 1948, following years of lobbying by veterans groups to have a burial ground in Hawaii for veterans of all wars. Punchbowl's birth
After World War II, the American Graves Registration's new Pacific office launched a search for missing war dead in the Central and Southwest Pacific, exhumed bodies in wartime graveyards around Hawaii, and arranged for final burial of war dead who were to lie at rest here, according to "Hawaii's War Years" by Gwenfread Allen.
While some were reburied in veteran cemeteries on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island, the new national cemetery at Punchbowl became the resting place of many of those who had died fighting for their country.
Grave No. 1 contains an unidentified victim of the Pearl Harbor attack, reburied there Jan. 4, 1949. The Punchbowl cemetery was officially dedicated on the fourth anniversary of September 1945's V-J (Victory over Japan) Day.
Kamehameha Schools opens K-6 Maui campus
Kamehameha Schools dedicated its first neighbor island campus this morning in Pukalani, Maui.The 100-acre campus is fully operational for the 1999-2000 school year and equipped to handle 152 students from kindergarten through sixth grade. One grade will be added each year until 2002 when 200 students can be served, said a Kamehameha spokesman.
The $15 million Phase I construction began last year. Phase II is slated for completion in early 2000 at about $11 million.
The new campus, located off the Kula Highway near the Kula/Pukalani boundary, was purchased in 1996 by Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate.
UH-Hilo gets high marks among Western schools
U.S. News and World Report has again ranked the University of Hawaii-Hilo third among public liberal arts colleges in the West.Among the factors used to determine the ranking were UH-Hilo's average student-to-faculty ratio of 13-to-1 and that 99 percent of its faculty are full-time instructors.
UH-Hilo placed third behind Evergreen State and Texas A&M-Galveston.
Taking Notice
GRANTS, DONATIONS AND AWARDS
The River of Life mission has recognized A. Joel Criz with its International Union of Gospel Missions Award for six years of handling all real estate matters on a voluntary basis. He is currently vice president on the board of directors. Criz holds a Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute designation.Cheryl Padeken of Kaneohe received the Blessing of the Year award for volunteering in the mission's administration office.
Dr. Stanley S. Shimoda, a Honolulu gastroenterologist, has been given the 1999 Distinguished Clinician Award by the American Gastroenterological Association. As an associate professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at the University of Hawaii, his research work on disease has had significant impact on patients .
Angela Ibanez-Zangerie , an intelligence specialist and resource manager at Camp H.M. Smith, U.S. Pacific Command, has been recognized by the Government Employees Insurance Co. (GEICO) for her achievements in promoting traffic safety and accident prevention for the public. She was awarded $2,500 and a trip to Washington for two.
Dr.Roy Tadami Nakayama of Honolulu has been named to the residency review committee for obstetrics and gynecology of the American College of Graduate Medical Education . He is on the staffs of Kapiolani Children's Medical Center, the Queen's Medical Center and Pali Momi Medical Center. Nakayama is also chairman of the OB/GYN Department at the University of Hawaii.
Alicia M. Kaneshiro, a Hope College student from Kaneohe, has received the "Ancient Mystic Order of the Trilobite" award by the Michigan school's geology faculty, which gives the honor to freshmen who show the most potential.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Police told that girl, 17, kidnapped by ex-beau
Police are trying to locate a 17-year-old Kapolei girl who allegedly was kidnapped last night in Waipahu.Witnesses told police the girl was confronted by her former boyfriend, 19, in the parking lot of the Waipahu 7-Eleven at 94-911 Farrington Hwy. about 11:45 p.m.
The girl was forced into a silver-colored van by the man, a resident of Hina Street in Waipahu who is about 6 feet tall and weighs 280 pounds, police said.
Motorcyclist, 22, killed in Pali Highway crash
Speed appears to be a contributing factor in the traffic death yesterday of a 22-year-old man, who crashed his motorcycle into a concrete barrier at the hairpin turn on the Kailua side of the Pali Highway, said police.The man was pronounced dead at Castle Hospital, about 45 minutes after the 1:46 p.m. crash was reported. Police said he was wearing a safety helmet.
The traffic fatality is the fourth this month and the fifth involving a motorcyclist on Oahu this year.
Kapolei suspect arrested in hit-run in Makiki
Police arrested a suspected hit-and-run driver who allegedly struck a pedestrian in Makiki early yesterday.The injured man, 23, is in guarded condition at Queen's Hospital.
Police said the man was struck at 4:20 a.m. while in a crosswalk on Lunalilo and Piikoi streets. A 1996 Honda Civic, westbound on Lunalilo, crossed the intersection as the traffic signal was turning from red to green, police said.
Police located the car and arrested a 22-year-old Kapolei man for failure to render aid.
Alcohol may be a contributing factor, police said.
Police identify two dead in Big Island accidents
KAILUA-KONA -- Police have released the names of two Big Island men killed in traffic accidents Saturday.The victim of a one-car accident on Queen Kaahumanu Highway was identified as Joshua Bus, 27, of Kailua-Kona.
The driver of a pickup truck who apparently drowned after driving off Kailua Pier was identified as Joe Henry Kahananui, 35, of Kailua-Kona.
Two Mililani boys remain in critical condition
Two Mililani boys, rescued Friday at a Waipio swimming hole, remain in critical condition at Kapiolani Hospital.The boys, ages 12 and 8, and another boy were playing in Waikakalaua Stream off Waikalani Drive when they got into trouble.
Two of the boys did not know how to swim, police said.
