Once the surviving prisoners arrived in Ranau, they were put to work carrying 20 kg sacks of flour over very hilly terrain to Paginatan, over 40 kilometers away. By the end of July, 1945, there were no prisoners left in Ranau.

Only six survived in what became known as the infamous "death march". Of those who died, most were never found. The six that survived did so because they were able to escape from the camp into the jungle at Ranau and were cared for by local natives. No British prisoners survived.

Most historians consider this to be the worst atrocity ever suffered by Australian soldiers, comparing it to the atrocities of the Burma Railway, where fewer Australian POW's lost their lives.

This week in the 117-year old colonial St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Sandakan, a beautiful, 1000-piece stained glass window was dedicated to those who fell on that gruesome march in a ceremony mixing Anglican liturgy, the national anthems of Sabah, Australia, Great Britain and Malaysia and a beautifully rendered Anthem "We Have Won" that brought tears to the eyes of some 100 Australians, relatives of those who died in that long, terrible march.

In his sermon, the Most Rev. Yong Ping Chung, Archbishop of Southeast Asia, said the death march was a dark page in the history of World War II, and compared Jesus' cry of Dereliction, "My God, my God why has thou forsaken me" to the cry of many of those Christians who suffered on that march.

"The deep cry of Jesus on the cross before he died was a message from the heart of God. 2434 men were made to march through hell and at the end only six survived, all six were escapees. It was a dark and shameful record of the tyranny of human sin in human history. Many of those men were Christians and in their darkest hours their faith sustained them. Their faith became stronger as their body weight shrunk, their faith rose in glorious strength. Many cried my God why have you forsaken me. The only comfort comes from the Lord Jesus himself."

"Out of the deep cry of the cross came the glorious resurrection. Out of the death march in Sabah we have this testimony of these windows in St. Michael's church. This shows what is possible. Even in what seemed so desperate at that time we are here to celebrate God's own victory. He can change and transform human life," said the visibly moved archbishop.

"We declare war is evil. All those who commit such atrocities against humanity are evil and we will have nothing to do with it and them. These windows are a testimony of the deep cry of the hearts of all those [who live] in all those regions. Our God is a loving God. It took place 60 years in ugly darkness, but never again will there be a war as bad as what took place on that death march."

The Archbishop told the more than 500 assembled that included a large Australian contingent and the Australian High Commissioner, that there was some human care, decency and human love in spite of an impossible situation.

He cited the compassion of Kaingal Suman bin Gadalip, an aging Malay who carried the Flag of Malaysia in this historic ceremony. He was described as a patriot who 'hid, nursed and delivered' to safety, three of the six survivors of the Death March.

The archbishop praised the gift and talents of Australian artist Philip Handel who made the Window of Remembrance from 1001 pieces of glass of different colors and hues. "He is a real artist who was willing to come out of retirement to complete this wonderful object," said Archbishop Yong.

In his peroration Primate Yong said, "We dedicate these Windows of Remembrance erected for the POWs who died in the death mach died in WWII and give thanksgiving for the heroic acts of many locals who helped the POWs. Sixty years have passed and we are grateful that today the generous gifts of so many people were able to complete this project. Now there is a permanent corner in this church for those who played an important role...brave soldiers and local heroes."

In another part of the city of Sandakan an Australian Memorial honoring the survivors, POW's, local civilians who helped by clandestinely feeding the prisoners, and soldiers who perished at Sandakan and during the death marches into the jungle, was erected at what was the Prisoner of War Camp in Taman Rimba.

At Labuan, Borneo, there is a war cemetery, containing the graves of the thousand men whose bodies were recovered. There is also a monument there with more than a thousand other names engraved on it - those who have no known grave. To some, the Sandakan Death March is Australia's 'Holocaust'.

FOOTNOTE: DESTROYING EVIDENCE OF JAPANESE ATROCITIES

When it became certain that Japan would have to surrender, extraordinary efforts were made to protect those responsible for Japan's atrocities, including Emperor Hirohito, by destroying incriminating evidence.

On 20 August 1945, the senior Japanese officer in charge of prisoner of war and civilian internment camps ordered camp guards to destroy all incriminating evidence of atrocities or brutal treatment of prisoners of war and civilians, and advised guilty camp guards to transfer or flee.

END