Death March-Sandakan

There was a write up in The Star today regarding World War II in Sabah. An Australian historian, Lynette Silver wrote a book ' Blood Brothers' as a tribute to World War II heroes during the Death March,  Sandakan-Ranau in 1942-1945.


I was at Kundasang early this year for a short holiday. Running out of places to go, the three of us (my husband, my sister and I) decided to drop by at Kundasang War Memorial. It was opened on 17 August 2009. Such a nice garden it was but what really attract my attention was the history behind memorial garden. When you have the opportunity to go there, try to read up on all the articles which has been put up nicely by the staff.


In 1945, when the Japanese started to realise that they may have lost the war, the  prisoners were forced to march, in three separate marches, from Sandakan to the village of Ranau in the jungle, 250 km away, under the shadows of Mount Kinabalu.

On 28 January, 1945, 470 prisoners set off, only 313 arriving in Ranau. On the second march, 570 started from Sandakan, but only 118 reached Ranau. The third march which comprised the last of the prisoners from the Sandakan camp contained 537 prisoners. The march route was extremely tough. The Japanese soldiers shot the prisoners who were unable to walk. The prisoners had to march through virgin jungle infested with wild animals. They took nearly a year to complete.


By the end of July, 1945, there were no prisoners left in Ranau. Only six Australians of the 2400 prisoners survived the "death march"  - they survived because they were able to escape from the camp at Ranau, or escaped during the march from Sandakan. No British prisoners survived. Of those who died, most were never found. The survivors manage to stay alive because they escaped into the jungle where they were cared for by the local people. 


Let us say a prayer for those souls who perished during this march.