Honouring a veteran..

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!!

Ask not what salary your people can pay you, but what salary you can pay your people..

I knew of this senior who toiled his productive years for his fellow countrymen(and country women of coz!).. and his non productive ones too.. despite the fact that he got no free parking..no salary..no piority in HDB selection..no PBM or BBM..whatever that is for..

i know the world is not really fair or round..but i would like to thank you for the contributions you made to the country and it's people..

Sorry i am not in a position to give you the medals..but you were a hero in my heart, and this shall be the way I honour you.

长江后浪推前浪。。。赞！！

I respected you..and I cried when I got the news.

Cheers!

Goodbye to my dear friend, a brother in arms,long time comrade.. a great loss to the Commando Family..

One of the 1st thing I came across this morning when I browsed through my Facebook pages..Somebody posted in our closed group account that a fellow commando have left us. As I was still not fully awake and could not understand the impact of the word "left us"..I just replied by asking him who is Andrew Tan & what happened?
He replied with a FB link and I clicked on it and realised he was referring to my comrade from 81mm, better known to me as Lip Chee! I could not believe it and tried calling Lip Chee on his mobile..His family answered, confirmed that he had passed away. Before I could ask any further,the family member have to attend to something else.
My world came crashing down..I was in shock,disbelieve and only wish to wipe the tears off my eyes. I am not exactly a soft guy, but I really cannot help feeling emotional when someone close to have to "leave" just like that..

We just had our 14th 81mm High Trajectory Platoon Reunion Dinner a few days back(photo above)..I cannot accept that, that was our last good bye..I thought that we still will have reunion dinner year after year after year just like before..
I sent out smses to my 'band of brothers' and a few of them called me back immediately. Our reactions were all similar.

As of this point in time,none of us know exactly what happened to our healthy, young, energetic buddy who expressed happiness at being ready to be a father soon..How could he 'leave' suddenly like this? We are suppossed to meet up again this coming Saturday! So many questions,no answer yet. As a new father myself, I feel very depressed about this. The least I can do now is to spread the word and make sure that the whole group is informed.
I posted 2 photos of the old days below for memory's sake..All brothers who can make it to say the last goodbye(the wake), it is at a pavilion between Blk 27A & 27B Jalan Membina till this Friday.

Above: In an ice cream bar in our camp in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
Above: After our last mission as NSF in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

Comparing a lifetime with a candle..

With the recent occurrences of the passing away of a few high profile personalities, I could not help but had on some occasions compare the similarity between a lifetime with the burning of a candle. Candles come in all kinds of shapes, length, sizes..some even scented. 





It reflects the qualities of the candles. Candles burn under different types of conditions..windy, calm, some protected in lamps etc..the different environments that the candles burn in..but one thing for sure,the flame will burn out one day..
All living things will have their lifetime end one day, you can be the Prime Minister's mother, you can be a Minister of State, you can be a Member of Parliament, you can live to be more than 100 years old..but we all still have to face this fact.

All over the world, new lives are created while many also ended at the same time. It has been like that since the beginning of time. When we were younger, the people who were passing away around us used to be our grandparents..as we grow older,the people who are passing away move towards our parents' generation. Before we know it, it's going to be our friends or ourselves ultimately going to face the end of our lives.


My uncle passed away recently alone at home and it was until hours later when we got the fireman,together with the Police to break into his flat before we discovered the fact. He was 61 years old and I did not expect he will no longer be around at this age. 


My uncle was a smoker and drinker just like me..in fact,he was the only one in the family who had these habits. He was just a simple,straight forward 'candle' with not much of a formal education and handicapped in one arm since he was young. 



When I went to school, had a very restricted amount of pocket money from my parents and it was this uncle who would supply me with a 4 figure amount of pocket money..I never felt poor as a student. When he passed away with only twenty-something dollars in his bank account, can you imagine how really awful I felt..? The real legacy that he left behind for us cannot simply be measured in dollars and cents.


One of the last conversations he had with me was when we were smoking at the birthday party of my nieces. He told me in Teochew that smoking is not good for health at all..don't smoke lah..I did not expect that to be our last real conversation. 


When he did not appear at the market as usual,my family got worried and asked me to go up to his place to take a look. I knocked on the door and called out to him, but there were no response. I thought he must have gone out somewhere..what I did not know at that point in time..he was already dead in his kitchen..





The one thing that I am very sure..this uncle of mine, when his candle was burning bright, he lighted up the lives of all members in my extended family..especially that of his many nephews and nieces. 
Is your candle lighting up the lives of other candles around you?