ABSTRACT
The concept of the ‘War in the Pacific’ as one of the principal arenas of the Second World War is implicit acknowledgement that total war is a transnational phenomenon. However we define the locus of conflict, war’s entangled nature is not a prominent feature when one considers how it is remembered in countries such as Australia. For despite winners and losers sharing these memories forever, war remains one of the most significant means for strengthening the national imaginary. This paradox – that war is almost always international but its memory and commemoration is claimed for the nation – has long been taken for granted. So powerful a force is this mobilisation by the nation state, many in subsequent generations are ‘surprised’ to discover that other nations took part in seminal battles as allies against the enemy. One might be appalled at reading that American school children did not realise Britain had been involved in the Second World War. 1 But given the dominance of Anzac mythology in Australia, many are surprised to learn that more British and French soldiers died at Gallipoli than Australians (34,072 from United Kingdom, 9,798 from France and 8,709 Australians). 2 Nations tend to construct memories of war as if they fought the enemy separately on their own – all other lands and people fade into the background.
