japanese military

1942What is the significance of the Sandakan Memorial Park in Malaysia to the Australians and British?

Sandakan Memorial Park in Malaysia stands on the site where over 2,700 Australian and British prisoners of war were held by Japanese forces during World War II. The park marks the site of the infamous Sandakan Death Marches, in which almost all of the POWs died from starvation, disease, or execution during forced treks through the jungle in 1945. Of the thousands brought to Sandakan, only six survived these brutal marches, a fact that underscores the scale of suffering commemorated by the memorial established in 2011. Today, visitors can pause for reflection in the peaceful park, where the black commemorative stele stands as a solemn reminder of these atrocities and the enduring bond between nations forged in sacrifice.

1941What U.S. national day of remembrance had been earlier declared as "a date which will live in infamy"?

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, observed each year on December 7, honors the lives lost during the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force on Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. This pivotal event, famously described by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a date which will live in infamy," marked the United States' entry into World War II. On that day in 1941, more than 2,000 Americans perished and nearly 200 aircraft were destroyed, with the USS Arizona suffering the greatest losses—1,177 of its 1,512 crew members died and only two survivors remain as of 2019. The annual commemoration, officially recognized by Congress in 1994, serves as a lasting tribute to the selfless sacrifice of those who served and marks over eight decades since that fateful morning changed the course of history.