Punchbowl Crater, an extinct volcanic tuff cone in Honolulu formed about 75,000 to 100,000 years ago, is tied to both Hawaiian tradition and U.S. military history. Known in Hawaiian as Pūowaina, or Hill of Sacrifice, it was associated with human sacrifices and executions for breaking sacred taboos. In Kamehameha the Great’s time, cannons on the rim saluted important arrivals. Later the crater served settlement, a Hawaii National Guard rifle range in the 1930s, anti-aircraft defense during the December 7, 1941 attack, and wartime recreation and fortification projects. After World War II, Congress funded the cemetery there in 1948, making it the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.