Kundasang War Memorial

About

The Kundasang War Memorial was one of the first monuments to commemorate a brutal, but often overlooked chapter of World War II. At its height, the Sandakan POW Camp held 2500 prisoners, who were used as forced labor by the Japanese to create an airfield. However, after being destroyed by American bombings, the camp was closed an several hundred prisoners were forced to walk to Ranau - the rest were left to die in the bombed-out airfield. Of the prisoners held at the camp, only 6 survived because they managed to escape into the jungle. The local population also suffered greatly at the hands of the Japanese, with as many as 16% dying during the occupation. The Kandasang War Memorial is a beautiful memorial to the fallen, with an Australian Garden, a formal English Rose Garden, and a Borneo Tropical Garden, represent the homelands of those who died, all watched over by a Contemplation Garden with reflection pool.