Australian Consul-General Paul Robilliard addresses attendees of the 32nd ANZAC ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii.

MARFORPAC Commander Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson noted, “This year’s celebration once again sees Australian and American armed forces in the field, fighting a common foe. Our rich legacy, from Belleau Wood and Gallipoli in World War I, through Milne Bay, Guadalcanal, and the ‘Coast Watchers’ of World War II, through Korea, Vietnam, and the previous desert wars is once again on display. Whenever freedom is threatened, strong men armed from Australia and the United States have met the challenge. We will again.”

Each year, the ANZAC ceremony takes place at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as “the Punchbowl,” located near Honolulu. Lush trees, bathed in warm, tropical sunlight and caressed by gentle breezes, line the Punchbowl, a natural crater that shelters this hallowed ground. Its Hawaiian name, “Pu’owaina,” means “hill of sacrifice.” More than 45,000 U.S. military men and women (and their family members) rest there. The cemetery also is the final resting place for famed World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle and Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut Ellison Onizuka.

Marble tablets in the Courts of the Missing memorial in the Punchbowl contain the engraved names of more than 28,000 American service men whose remains have never been recovered. The names include 28 Medal of Honor recipients. The Courts of the Missing lead up a long marble staircase to the chapel of the Honolulu Memorial. Most of the ceremony takes place at the base or on this magnificent marble staircase.

“The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl has become an appropriate venue for the nations of Australia and New Zealand to commemorate ANZAC Day, because this site is known as a symbol of international service and sacrifice to one’s nation,” said the Director of the Cemetery, retired U.S. Marine Col. Gene Castagnetti. “This natural shrine has more than five million visitors annually from all parts of the globe, and has hosted U.S. Presidents, foreign heads of state, and numerous ambassadors from all around the Pacific Rim.”