Office of Veterans' Services

HAWAII STATE VETERANS CEMETERY
45-349 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe, HI 96744
Phone: (808) 369-3575

GENERAL INFORMATION/RULES AND REGULATIONS
Reference: Department of Defense, Amendments to Chapter 7-32-6, Hawaii Administrative Rules, 2008

VISITING HOURS: The cemetery is open to visitor’s everyday from 7:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to include holidays.

CEMETERY OFFICE HOURS: Monday through Friday 7:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., (Closed 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Reopen 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Closed weekends and State holidays)

CONDUCT: Visitors are to conduct themselves in keeping with the dignity and sacredness of the cemetery. Proper attire is required to be worn at all times (shirt/upper body dressing and footwear). Those visiting these hallowed grounds will refrain from any conduct or activity that is unbecoming to the final resting place of our Nation’s heroes and loved ones.  Accordingly, no visitors will be permitted to:

1. Litter the grounds, tag/spray painting buildings, or structures;
2. Cut, break, remove, or injure trees, shrubs, grass, or other plantings;
3. Use the cemetery for any form of sports or recreation, including but not limited to:
a. Jogging
b. Skate boarding, roller-skating, or rollerblading;
c. Bicycling;
d. Picnicking;
e. Ball Playing;
f. Loitering (public gathering and service, ceremony, or demonstration, except authorized by the Cemetery Director);
g. Consumption of intoxicating beverages or illegal use of controlled substances;
h. Engaging in any other demeaning activity or boisterous action playing loud or amplified music;
i. Erecting portable tents;
j. Solicitation;
k. Washing cars;
l. Barbequing;
m. Fireworks.

4. No pets allowed. This does not apply to seeing eye or service animals accompanying their masters;
5. No feeding of any animals is allowed in the cemetery (i.e. cats, dogs, pigeons, pigs, chickens, etc.)…violators will be prosecuted accordingly;
6. Visitors at authorized public gatherings or ceremonies will observe proper standards of decorum and decency while upon the cemetery premises. The Cemetery Director can make exceptions for cultural purposes, for example, as part of a cultural specific event. Approval will be in writing prior to the event.
7. Potted plants and wreaths will be permitted on gravesites only during the period of (10) ten days before and (10) ten days after Easter Sunday, Christmas, Hana Matsuri, O-Bon, and Memorial Day. Requests for exceptions to the above floral regulations will be submitted in writing with justification to the Cemetery Director. Potted plants are not to exceed 2 feet in height.

TRAFFIC CONTROL: The speed of vehicles on the cemetery grounds will not exceed 15 miles per hour. The Cemetery Director will prescribe speed rules as may be necessary to provide for safety, and to control traffic, including the operation, parking of sightseeing, or chartered buses or special vehicles.

GROUND MAINTENANCE: Cemetery personnel are responsible for cutting grass and maintaining graves. Families are not allowed to plant any type of outside purchased grass or permanent plantings. Personal maintenance of gravesites such as trenching and bordering around the gravesite or marker and applying oil or any foreign substance on the marker is prohibited. Raising a cemetery plot above the surrounding terrain is also prohibited.

Hawaii Administrative Rules, Chapter 7-32-10: “Except for flowers, no person shall memorialize a gravesite for any reason or do anything to distinguish one gravesite from another. Any person memorializing a gravesite will not be reimbursed for any such items removed by cemetery personnel and the families, if known, shall be liable for any removal and restoration costs, which may include legal proceedings. Repeat violations may result in a ban from the cemetery, the issuance of a trespass order, or other legal remedies to maintain the level of reverence intended for these sacred grounds.”

GRAVE AND FLORAL DECORATIONS: Fresh cut flowers in permanent or temporary vases may be placed on the graves or in the columbarium area at any time. Use of adhesive tape or wire/metal fasteners to attach floral items or vases to the headstones or columbarium walls is prohibited. All flowers will be removed as soon as they become withered, faded, or unsightly at the discretion of the cemetery staff and groundskeepers.

1. The religious convention of placing fruit, beverages, and religious artifacts on the graves shall be allowed.

2. Prohibited items:
a. Artificial flowers;
b. Statues;
c. Vigil lights;
d. Glass or breakable objects of any kind;
e. Commemorative items (including toys);
f. Windmills;
g. Balloons;
h. Stuffed toys;
i. Hazardous items will be immediately removed;
j. Fresh cut flowers are not to exceed 2 feet in height.

FLOWER VASE: Permanent or temporary flower vases are limited to (1) ONE* per gravesite. Only those who have purchased a second vase prior to (*October 2013) this rule change and have a letter of authorization approved by the Cemetery Director are allowed an exception at this time. Eventually, grave restoration projects will bring vase alignment to one per gravesite, the same standard as Punchbowl Cemetery. The columbarium wall niche will be allowed only (1) ONE authorized mounted vase. Delivery and installation of the permanent type vase will be permitted after the permanent marker is received. After installation of the permanent vase, temporary vases are no longer allowed.

INTERMENT FLAGS: Interment flags donated to the cemetery by the next of kin will form the Avenue of Flags for display on certain holidays. Also, a brass nameplate in honor of the Veteran will be placed on a plaque located in the lobby area of the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery Administration Building.

MEMORIAL PLAQUES: When the decedent’s ashes are scattered or there is no body recovered (i.e. MIA or burial at sea), a family may choose to have a plaque in his/her honor placed on the memorial wall located in the columbarium area.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: All caskets will be placed in a polyguard liner vault for burial unless otherwise requested.