One of the most infamous episodes of the Pacific War was the attempted escape by 1,100 Japanese prisoners of war from Australia's Camp Cowra on Aug. 5, 1944.

The escape was prompted by officers who arrived at the camp late in the war and were appalled by the fact that the soldiers already interned had not killed themselves yet.

To them, being prisoners was the ultimate shame, and the escape attempt was carried out not for the purpose of returning to Japan or the front lines, but for the purpose of being shot. More than 200 POWs died.