Location: Singapore
Date: February 7 to September 12, 1942
Event: Battle of Singapore, WW2
Many people nowadays have forgotten, or don’t even know, that the freedom we enjoy, the peace that we revel in, the stability of our nation, was gained through hardship.
Our country is not founded on only the blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers, but also those who came from distant lands, to defend the shores of a country full of mixed ethnicities, of which they didn’t much understand, but they did their job, down to the last man, and if any had any cause for complaint, none were spoken, and none were heard.
In the Battle for Singapore, Australian, British, Indian and local military forces fought off, and subsequently surrendered, to the Japanese, resulting in the Japanese Occupation. Tens of thousands of Allied personnel went down from their bayonets, swords and bullets.
My grandparents and some of my aunts and uncles survived that period.
Their stories are horrifying, yet, gripping.
There was much to mourn for, at that time.
The loss of family, food, shelter.
The mistreatment. The slaughter, rape and pillaging.
Most of all, when the British surrendered, the loss of hope.
They knew, oh yes they knew, that they had no chance of survival without the aid of the “white men”, and they were glad for their help, even though it did turn out badly, these said “white men” gave their best shot at it, trying to defend a foreign land from oppressors, even though it didn’t seem likely that they’re gonna win. Yes, I do respect the local heroes like Lt. Adnan and Lim Bo Seng, but what about the unsung heroes?
In a way, I guess I’m just trying to continue what my predecessors were trying to convey, but have never put in words.
I may not be representing my country, but I do feel that it is right that I should speak for the young people of my country. The descendants of those who were saved by courageous acts of valour performed by Allied personnel stationed in Singapore.
They who have shed their blood and spilled their tears for a land they know next to nothing about of. Those who have defended this fine oriental shores and then found themselves shipped on a train wagon or boat to hell on earth. The ones who made the ultimate sacrifice, of trading their lives for the sake of another country’s freedom. Humanity at its worst, and yet at its best. These people were willing to leave loved ones behind, at the risk of permanently leaving them, for the sake of a country far, far away. These people suffered hardships, brutality and suffering beyond reckoning so that we could live better lives, away from tyranny and war, violence and the such.
These people shed blood in the hope that we wouldn’t need to.
So…
Whatever your mission, whatever your agenda for coming to Singapore was, be you British, Australian, Indian, Chinese, Malay or whatever your ethnicity is, if you had come to Singapore and defended our shores, then I appoint myself to speak for my generation of Singaporeans when I say, thank you for your help, and we sincerely appreciated the sacrifices you have made.
You unsung heroes, whose names I will never know.
Your deeds live on in my country’s independence, freedom, peace and stability.
You may be gone but God forbid, not forgotten.
Even if no one else in my generation has ever said it, or has even thought about it, at least I’ll be among the first to say it, but I hope that I won’t be the last.
Once again, heroes of Singapore, from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of my generation and the generations that are to come..
Thank you.
This post is a homage to all those who defended Singapore against the Japanese in 1942. I hope that it goes out to as many of those surviving veterans of WW2 in Singapore (as well as their families and the families of those who gave up their lives for Singapore) as possible. If you know of any, please convey my heartfelt thanks. It may be too late to offer condolences, but I shall honour them in my prayers and in my life, by living life as free and as hard as I can. I will not avail them their sacrifice to provide us with a chance to bloom, learn and to live.
Live free. We’ve got to earn it.
RK
