An End To A War

This memoir An End To A War by Ueno Itsuyoshi (surname first), is by a Japanese war veteran who served in North Borneo at the time of the death marches.  Ueno was recruited towards the end of the war when the recruits were far less fit than those who were in the military at the beginning.  He was not a career soldier and he and others seem to have gathered together to "make up the numbers" as the Japanese faced their defeat.  Ueno and his company faced their own "death march" as they were forced to go across northern Borneo.  They suffered terribly along the way, with many deaths and illness through starvation, malaria and the conditions of the environment in which they found themselves.  His company was not involved with the forced marches of the Allied soldiers and he had very little contact with them.  He was very critical of "armchair generals" who cared so little about the troops on the ground.  His memoir of his time in Borneo is an important document in understanding the War from the Japanese perspective. It reminds us that war is terrible for those on both sides of the conflict. 41/2/5