This is the grave of 2,500 Allied prisoners of war who lost their lives in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, during the Pacific War. The Japanese army decided to send approximately 2,000 British and Australian prisoners of war on a death march to Ranau, located in the interior of Borneo Island.

　　This is the grave of 2,500 Allied prisoners of war who lost their lives in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, during the Pacific War. The graves include those who died during forced marches through the jungle, those who died within the Sandakan prisoner-of-war camp, and those who died after the marches ended.

　　During World War II, the Japanese military captured a large number of Allied soldiers as prisoners of war in February 1942 and distributed them to various detention facilities. At the peak of the camp in 1943, approximately 2,500 prisoners were held there. In late 1944, as Allied forces invaded Borneo Island, the Japanese military decided to send approximately 2,000 British and Australian prisoners of war on a death march to Ranau in the interior of Borneo Island. The prisoners walked approximately 260 kilometers through the jungle, becoming weak and sick, with many dying along the way, their bodies left behind. Those who could not continue the march were killed, and the weakened prisoners were left behind at the Sandakan Prisoner of War Camp, where all eventually died. Of the approximately 1,000 prisoners sent to Ranau, only six Australian prisoners of war survived.

　　In May 1945, the Japanese military finally decided to close the POW camp and on May 29, ordered 536 prisoners to march to Ranau. The camp was set ablaze, and records related to the camp were destroyed. Other prisoners were forced to march through the jungle, where they either died or were shot by Japanese guards. By June 10, 1945, 30 prisoners had died, and the final mass march of 75 prisoners to Ranao began. The remaining prisoners left behind in the ruins died from starvation, disease, or were killed by Japanese guards. By August 15, 1945, there was not a single survivor left in the camp.