"Tingbaot Wol Wo II long Pasifik aelan" : managing memories of WWII heritage in the Pacific

As Judith Bennett's quotation observes, the impact of the Pacific War on Pacific Islanders was a unique event that permanently changed patterns of life throughout the region. This chapter investigates and analyses the present-day cultural heritage legacy issues associated with WWII. It emphasizes the importance of Islander perspectives of the conflict and how their heritage is remembered and commemorated at the present time. It also considers how official heritage dialogues commemorate the war. For many, the memory of the Pacific War, as well as in turn attention to the remaining heritage, is fading and in some instances is no longer relevant. Seemingly there are competing trends regarding commemoration of war heritage or, increasingly, forgetting. Many Pacific Islands exhibit longevity in nurturing their ware memory and heritage. An indicative example is the Solomon Islands, where there has been a recent spate of commemorative events and public sculptures to honour the coastwatchers. Yet other Pacific Island societies place less and less value on their war heritage as time goes by. This tension between remembering and forgetting is primarily associated with the Pacific War's intangible heritage.