Saturday, June 5, 2010

Navy Open House 2010

Just a few weeks ago, my 5.5 years old told us he wanted to be the Captain of an aircraft carrier when he grew up.

The daddy informed him that there are no aircraft carriers in the Singapore Navy.

'How can I be a Captain of an aircraft carrier if there is not even ONE in the first place?' sulked the disappointed boy.

The daddy gently suggested that the boy take actions to make his dreams come true. At first, there was a little reluctance and uncertainties.

'Huh? How? What? etc' ... After lots of questions and a little research on the Internet, it was decided that the boy would write a letter to the Singapore Navy, addressed to the Chief of Singapore Navy.

And so he did.

The 5.5 years old sat down and wrote a very personal letter to the Rear Admiral Chew and even drew a cute little picture to accompany his letter.




We posted the letter in good faith and congratulated the little boy for his efforts and initiative. I remember joking that it would be so funny if we received a reply.

A few weeks later, we got this in our mailbox!! Totally unexpected!


With the letter came a big wall poster and tickets for the ship cruise and frigate tour at the Navy Open House 2010. We learnt later (at the event) that the public had to ballot for the privileged few tickets, so we were very delighted with ours.

On 23rd May, armed with hats, plenty of sunblock and ample energy, we headed to the Expo for the Navy Open House 2010. The mood for adventure was written all over my boys' faces, it was simply awesome!

Here are a few photos to remember the outing by...

All comfortably seated on board the minesweeper during the ship cruise.

Of course like EVERYONE else, we had to have a photo of them in front of a ship, whether they liked it or not! :P It seems silly now, but I am sure we will cherish such photos in future when my boys are grown up!
Pretending to shoot down some airplanes!

One of Marcus' favourite vessels that day. He kept hurrying us to go home so that he could draw it on paper. Once he reached home, he drew it from memory straightaway.

We had to coax them to pose for us. They were tired and hungry by then. So the reluctance showed on the faces.



The ship cruise was a fantastic experience for them - to have their cheeks caressed by the sea breeze and ears blasted by the howling of the wind while they admired ocean-liners and other marine vessels as far as their eyes could see.

The boys were totally knackered after the few hours in the torturous heat. So we decided to skip the Frigate tour and had a quick bite (of really crappy food at the Show) instead to refuel before heading for the exit.

Though there was still so much more that we could have checked out if we had stayed a little longer, I am glad that we made it to the event. A small adventure is better than none. After all, how often would little boys get to sail with a minesweeper and see a submarine up close!

It is indeed a nice addition to their childhood memory.


20 comments:

dblchin (double chin) said...

omg! The letter ur little boy wrote is soooooo cute! It melted my heart!

Jus said...

Wow! I think how you and the hubby encouraged him to write the letter was fantastic! And so nice that they wrote back!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sailing onboard our minecounter warship :) im one of the crew onboard the minecounter ship. I saw the post on ur boy's letter, it touched my heart. Im inspired by his courage :)
Im sure he will definitely become a Captain of a Navy warship !

DG said...

Thanks dblchin and Jus. We are especially appreciative of the fact that we got a reply. It is just a really nice gesture on their part to take the time to reply to a 5 years old.

kelvin said...

Thank u for sailing onboard the Minecounter warship with us :)
I'm one of the Naval sailor onboard. Ur post on the letter frm ur boy is so inspiring.
Im sure he will definitely become a Captain of a Navy ship in future ! Tkcare. oh ! and the fotos u took on Navy Open Hse are awesome !

DG said...

Thanks anonymous and Kelvin! We had a great time onboard and are looking forward to returning soon!

Anonymous said...

Even though I was not there with your boy at the navy open house, but as a Naval Combat Officer, Marcus's courage and enthusiasm was truly inspiring. It showed that no task was too big or too silly to accomplish and that no dream was too absurd to chase.

Even if he doesn't join the navy, he'll leave his mark somewhere in society. I can only hope to work with him in the future.

Crazpielee said...

Marcus is sooooooooooo cute!!!he even drew a baby aircraft!i could cry!

Anonymous said...

Hi, your blog post is most encouraging!

I'm hoping to interview you and your boys for a heartwarming news article about their experience on board the ship -- and of course, writing that letter.

Will that be possible? Please drop me an e-mail: ganlk@sph.com.sg

Thank you!
~ Ling Kai

Unknown said...

What a great story, and I love Marcus' letter. I'm the editor of a local children's mag, ASIAN Geographic JUNIOR, and for me, it's always a pleasure to get handwritten letters from kids...especially the younger ones!

I just stumbled on your blog through someone's twitter; I noticed that you're interested in education matters and thought I'd try and make a connection. My email is winnie @ asiangeo . com...if anything, I'd like to introduce you and your boys to my magazine.

Razlan said...

Saw a link to this post on Twitter. So heartwarming! Little touches like this made our days better.

Daphne (motherinc) said...

Well done Navy! And what a fantastic moment for you guys. Amazing!

JJ said...

hi, this is such a heartwarming story! thanks for sharing! makes me proud to be a Singaporean knowing that our Navy is actually human!!!

Navy's letter and kind gesture to your little boy is such such a contrast to Boeing's response to an 8-year old boy. See this story in New York Times http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/boeings-social-media-lesson/

rgds - joh ju

DG said...

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely, encouraging comments. I have shown them to my boy Marcus and he said thank you! I can tell he is very touched, just like his parents. :)

Anonymous, thank you for your encouraging comments. I especially like what you said 'no task was too big or too silly to accomplish and that no dream was too absurd to chase'. Our sentiments exactly!

Crazpielee, thanks! I am glad you like his drawing as much as we do. :>

Ling Kai, thanks so much for your offer. I will be in touch shortly.

Winnie, thanks a lot! I will be in touch shortly.

Razlan, Daphne and Joh Ju, thanks!

Alvin said...

I had read TODAY newspaper about Marcus.

He was so cute in his writing.

Rear Adm Chew is very busy and he must have found Marcus very cute and replied to him.

Aircraft Carrier is not for Singapore navy whose aim is to defend our terriorital water against foreign invasion.

Aircraft carrier is used by powerful country , eg. USA for power projection beyond its territory.

When he grows up, he will understand.:)

DG said...

Thanks Jing! :>

Alvin, thanks. He was kind of disapppointed in the beginning to know that it is unlikely for Singapore to get aircraft carriers but now he has decided he will be quite happy to be the Captain of a submarine or warship too! Haha

Edward Ong Yu Xiang said...

As a young child who has dreams and aspirations, I can see the passion Marcus harbours for his dream. It is impressive that the lad has such noble ambitions of taking up the duty of defending our land. I can only wish that some of my cadets possess such fire that your son embodies.

Keep it up, Marcus! Work hard, and never give up! The journey may be painful and tedious, but at the end of it all, the future that awaits you is the one you seek! =)

I look forward to working with your son in the defence of Singapore in the near future!

Anonymous said...

hi Goddess..

"Daddy" did great to suggest that Marcus wrote to the Admiral. And the Admiral did the admirable thing. And thanks to "mom" for sharing the story here and for the pictures!

Great story! Great kids!

It' making the rounds on the Net liao...

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/06/kudos-admiral/

DG said...

Wow Ryuusei, thank you for your encouragement! As parents, we also like to guide our boys to believe in the power of dreams and to have the passion to chase our dreams. :>

So it is really heartening to hear from young people like yourself who are working hard and following your chosen path! Good job to you too!

DG said...

Hi Anonymous, you are most welcome! And thanks for the link on theonlinecitizen! I would not have known. :>

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