The Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is undergoing a major renovation project, which began in 2014.

The Italian Trani limestone panels at the Courts of the Missing, containing more than 25,000 names from World War II and the Korean War, will be replaced and re-engraved. The original stone selected in the 1960s proved to be prone to staining, deteriorating the overall look of the memorial.

The American Battle Monuments Commission committed more than $10M for this project, which included a year-long study to identify an appropriate stone of similar appearance, but higher quality and design, and an improved mounting system. The stone selected is a Portuguese limestone.

In preparation for the stone replacement, crews have begun cordoning off work areas and prepping the site. The first phase of the project to renovate four of the eight courts (Courts 2, 4, 6 and 8) is expected to be completed in November 2017. The second phase (Courts 1, 3, 5 and 7) is expected to be completed in 2018.

During the work, portions of the Courts of the Missing will not be accessible to the public due to safety concerns. The majority of the monument itself will be open including all map pavilions, the chapel, the upper terrace, the Vietnam Courts of Missing and the public restrooms.

If you are planning a visit to honor someone commemorated in the Courts of the Missing, please visit the Honolulu Memorial page on ABMC.gov, or contact Tim Nosal at 703-696-6789 for the most up-to-date information.

The Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial honor those Americans that were missing in action, or were lost or buried at sea in the Pacific during World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War. The Honolulu Memorial includes only a portion of the names from World War II that were lost in the Pacific—more than 36,000 names are engraved on the Walls of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

The Courts of the Missing for the Vietnam War, which were added in the 1980s, are in fair condition, of a different stone and unnecessary to replace at the current time.