Schofield Barracks Obituary Records
A Schofield Barracks obituary covers a death tied to one of the largest Army posts in Hawaii. Schofield Barracks was founded in 1908 on the Central Oahu plateau near Wahiawa and is part of Honolulu County. The post is home to the 25th Infantry Division and holds the Main Post Cemetery, where more than 2,570 soldiers and family members are buried. This page walks through how to search a Schofield Barracks obituary, pull military burial data, and find archival records at the Tropic Lightning Museum and state libraries.
Schofield Barracks Overview
Schofield Barracks Main Post Cemetery
The Schofield Barracks Main Post Cemetery is the single most important burial source for a Schofield Barracks obituary. The cemetery was set up in 1912 and sits on 6.3 acres inside the post. Burial dates run from 1912 through 2025. The site holds more than 2,570 graves, most for soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division, the old Hawaiian Division, and civilian family members.
Records are kept by the Office of Army Cemeteries. You can search the full name index at the Schofield Barracks Main Post Cemetery records page. The index gives full name, dates, plot section, and grave number.
A Schofield Barracks obituary for a soldier often names this cemetery for the burial. Family flags, headstones, and full military honors are arranged through the Office of Army Cemeteries.
The Find a Grave memorial for Schofield Barracks Main Post Cemetery adds photos of many headstones. That helps a Mainland family that cannot visit the grave in person. Old photos sometimes show the original stone before weather wore down the text.
Volunteers add new photos on request. That is a quiet way for family members who live off island to get a picture of a Schofield Barracks grave site.
Note: The Schofield Barracks Main Post Cemetery sits inside an active Army post, so a visitor pass is needed at the main gate.
Tropic Lightning Museum Archives
The Tropic Lightning Museum on Schofield Barracks is a key archive for a Schofield Barracks obituary. The museum is run by U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii and sits on the post. Call (808) 655-0438 to set up a research visit. Staff keep government documents and photographs from 1909 to the present day.
Museum files include Hawaiian Division records from 1921 to 1941, 25th Infantry Division records, and unit rosters from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. A Schofield Barracks obituary for a soldier who served in any of those eras may tie back to a file here. The museum also keeps personal papers, diaries, and unit newsletters.
Researchers can request copies of unit photographs, morning reports, and old promotion lists. A name search often turns up a soldier's unit, rank, and dates. That data helps build out a Schofield Barracks obituary and ties it to wider Army records at the National Archives.
Tropic Lightning staff can walk a first-time researcher through the card catalog. The museum is free to visit and asks for an advance call before a deep research trip.
Hawaii Army Weekly Newspaper
The Hawaii Army Weekly is the post paper for Schofield Barracks. U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii has published it since 2007. The paper prints local news, command announcements, and some Schofield Barracks obituary notices for soldiers and retirees tied to the post. Issues are on file at the University of Florida Digital Collection at Hawaii Army Weekly Schofield Barracks archive.
The online archive is free to search. PDF copies go back to the first issue in 2007. A keyword search for a last name, a unit, or a rank can turn up a Schofield Barracks obituary or memorial notice.
Older post papers from earlier decades also survive. Titles like the Hawaiian Division News and later Tropic Lightning News hold obituary snippets for soldiers who died on post from the 1920s through the Vietnam era. Copies of those older papers live at the Tropic Lightning Museum and at some Hawaii libraries.
A Schofield Barracks obituary in a post paper is often short. It names the soldier, the unit, and the date of death. A fuller obituary for the same soldier may run in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on the civilian side.
Schofield Barracks Death Certificates
A death at Schofield Barracks or on Wheeler Army Airfield is recorded with the state. The Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, issues every Hawaii death certificate. The office is at 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103, in Honolulu. Hours run Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The fee is $10 for the first copy and $4 for each extra copy of the same record. A letter of verification under HRS §338-14.3 costs $5 and notes that the death is on file. Access is set by HRS §338-18. Only next of kin or a person with a direct and tangible interest can order a certified Schofield Barracks death record in the first 75 years.
Online orders go through vitrec.ehawaii.gov. A mailed order can take six to eight weeks. Active-duty service members also get a report of casualty through the Department of Defense, which works with the state record.
Punchbowl for Schofield Barracks Veterans
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as Punchbowl, is a second main burial site for Schofield Barracks vets. The cemetery sits at 2177 Puowaina Drive, Honolulu. It holds more than 53,000 burials from World War I through later conflicts. The VA runs the site. Many 25th Infantry Division soldiers are buried at Punchbowl if the Main Post Cemetery was full at the time of death.
The American Battle Monuments Commission Honolulu Memorial shares the same site. Courts of the Missing list 18,095 names from World War II in the Pacific, 8,210 from Korea, and 2,504 from Vietnam. A Schofield Barracks soldier who went missing in combat may be on one of the walls, even if no grave exists.
A Schofield Barracks obituary for a missing soldier often points to Punchbowl for the memorial service. Family can order a flag through the VA for any honorably discharged vet.
The Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe is a third option. That cemetery holds 16,064 burial records and is open to vets from every branch of service. A Schofield Barracks vet can use any of the three main Oahu sites, based on family choice and plot space.
Civilian Newspaper Obituaries
A Schofield Barracks obituary in the civilian press most often runs in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The paper prints daily obituaries for every Oahu community and names soldiers from the Army post. Search current listings online at obits.staradvertiser.com. Keyword searches for a last name plus Schofield often turn up quick hits.
Older Schofield Barracks obituary notices live in the legacy Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Both papers ran obituaries for Schofield Barracks soldiers and their families from the 1900s onward. The BYU-Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library keeps a long-running obituary index to both titles. That index is free to search online.
A civilian Schofield Barracks obituary often gives more detail than the post paper, like hometown, schools, full service record, and a list of survivors. A family can run both notices side by side to build a full obituary record.
Nearby Cities for Schofield Barracks Obituary Searches
Families who search a Schofield Barracks obituary often also check records in nearby Central Oahu communities that share hospital, cemetery, and library services.