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SANDAKAN, Sabah--On the 28th of January 1945, when the Japanese realized that the war was lost and the Allies were closing in, some 2,400 emaciated Australian and British POWs were force marched from Sandakan, in three separate marches, to the village of Ranau in the jungle, 250 kilometers away, under the shadows of Mount Kinabalu on the northern tip of Borneo. Those prisoners who were unable to walk were shot. The march route was through virgin jungle infested with crocodiles, snakes and wild pigs, and some of the prisoners had no boots. Rations were less than minimal. The march took...

Here is an e-mail I received from the webmaster, 1st Marine Division Associaion, involving the name of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, named after a KIA Marine just prior to that great battle of the Corps and WW II.

While it’s years from an official announcement, we have word that an agreement has been reached between Toyota and NASCAR for Toyota to race in Winston Cup in 2007. That’ll be three years after it starts in Craftsman Truck in 2004. Toyota engineers are working on the carbureted V8. It’s still on the computer at this point, but will soon come to three- dimensional form. One problem with the engine is casting it in iron. Most Toyota blocks are aluminum alloy, but engineers found a Toyota facility in Japan that still casts in iron. The Craftsman entry will feature a...

Mixed feelings over San Pedro film event NO SHOW: Insensitivity to Japanese-Americans is cited. Vets are stunned. By Donna Littlejohn DAILY BREEZE It was going to be a night to remember. Ushers dressed in World War II military uniforms, vintage cars pulling up to the curb, Pearl Harbor survivors and a recently restored 1940s military searchlight would be on hand Dec. 7 to greet the crowds at a special anniversary showing of “Tora! Tora! Tora!” at San Pedro’s historic Warner Grand Theatre. The 1970 film — a joint American and Japanese production — is considered one of the most accurate...