POW story at Sandakan POW camp

POW story at Sandakan POW camp

The map and reminder of the death march

     Sandakan-Ranau death march is one of the worst POW camp campaigns after Burma Rail roadway that suffered a lot of casualty. There is 2345 death been identify among them are the allies from Britain and Australian. Like Burma Rail roadway they were force to making military airstrip at Sandakan. However, after the airfield were bomb by allied in January 1945. Then the camp commandant Captain Hoshijima Susumu decided to move the remaining prisoners westward into the mountains to the town of Ranau, a distance of approximately 260 kilometres. There is three series of matching and all of them die from killed or died from a combination of hunger and illness before the Japanese admit defeat on 15 August 1945. This is telling us how the horror of war can be then we should thankful that we can live in peace here in Malaysia.

Sandakan POW camp on October 24, 1945, a few months after the camp was destroyed by the retreating Japanese troops. In No. 1 compound (pictured), graves containing the bodies of 300 Australian and British prisoners were later discovered. It is believed they were the men left at the camp after the second series of marches. Each grave contained several bodies, in some cases as many as 10. (Photographer: Frank Burke.)

Sergeant Hosotani Naoji (left, seated) of the Kenpeitai (Japanese secret police) at Sandakan is interrogated by Squadron Leader F. G. Birchall (second right) of the Missing Servicemen Section and Sergeant Mamo (right) of the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section on October 26, 1945. Naoji confessed to shooting two Australian POWs and five Chinese civilians. (Photographer: Frank Burke.)