Few scholars have explored the Pacific War's impact on Pacific Islanders. Cultures of Commemoration fills this crucial gap in the historiography by advancing scholarly understanding of Pacific Islander relations with and knowledge of American and Japanese colonialisms in the twentieth century.

In 1941 the Japanese military attacked the US naval base Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Although much has been debated about this event and the wider American and Japanese involvement in the war, few scholars have explored the Pacific Wars impact on Pacific Islanders. Cultures of Commemoration fills this crucial gap in the historiography by advancing scholarly understanding of Pacific Islander relations with and knowledge of American and Japanese colonialisms in the twentieth century