"Witness To War: Remembering 1942" Exhibition At The National Museum Of Singapore

This year marks the 75th year since the fall of Singapore in 1942 and the National Museum of Singapore has launched its latest exhibition, Witness to War: Remembering 1942 to commemorate it.

The exhibition touches on the Asia Pacific war when Japan attacked the United States military and naval bases in Hawaii, Wake Island, Guam and the Philippines as well as the British possessions of Malaya, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The attack on Singapore was part of a wider campaign waged by the Japanese Empire across the Pacific. It presents the complexities of the events that led to the outbreak of the war in Singapore in 1942. 

Syonan Gallery: War And Its Legacies

After a year-long revamp, the former Ford Motor Factory along Upper Bukit Timah Road has finally reopened its doors to a closed-door opening ceremony for invited guests on 15 February 2017.

Renamed Syonan Gallery, its opening was aptly timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the fall of Singapore.

A highlight of the private event was a weapon presentation ceremony, where recruits from the 2nd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) received their Singapore Assault Rifle (SAR) 21.

I think there is a significant meaning for our own army to take up arms at the very site where the British put down theirs. It is a dark chapter, but one that we must always remember; we can rely on no one except ourselves to defend our land.

We have come a long way and while we treasure the peace we have now, let us not forget the atrocities of the war that our ancestors had to go through.

With a heavy heart, I visited the museum on the next day when it is opened to the public.