Proposal to Preserve RSS Resolution as Part of Republic of Singapore Navy’s Heritage

69 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Defence whether the Ministry will consider preserving the RSS Resolution as part of the Republic of Singapore Navy’s heritage and also potentially as a tourist attraction.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: MINDEF and SAF share the positive sentiments of the hon Member of Parliament Desmond Choo and many other NSmen who wish to preserve for posterity, physical elements such as ships, aircraft, tanks that had formed an integral part of their personal NS experiences. We recognise that these physical artefacts can evoke precious and personal memories as well as experiences that could be passed to subsequent generations to strengthen our commitment for a strong national defence.

This is the very reason that each SAF service arm has heritage museums. Ideally, we would want to exhibit every retired platform because of the strong attachments for the unit personnel that served in it, but this is neither possible nor desirable for effective curation – not even for militaries in larger countries with longer military histories, let alone Singapore, with limited land and other resources.

Therefore, military museums preserve iconic retired platforms that provide the most historically significant representation and widest coverage that their citizens can identify with collectively, often related to pivotal battles, lost or won in their history.

Examples include the battleship USS Oregon which had served in the Spanish American War and the light aircraft carrier USS Cabot which had served in many battles, including one of the largest naval engagements at the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II (WW2). Even then, these ships were dismantled with several symbolic parts retained for display in museums and memorials in the United States.

Few exceptions do exist, such as the Pearl Harbour Museum which is a top tourist attraction for Honolulu, where one can view entire sunken warships as a result of that "infamous day in history". Another example is the USS Missouri, which had participated in the fierce battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, but more significantly was the very ship on which the Japanese surrendered to the Allied Forces, thus formally ending WW2.

The costs to maintain these artefacts are high, amounting to tens of millions each year, but could be justified by their international significance and patronage. It is not something any nation should hope for, but if in our future, platforms of such significance do arise, one could envisage them being preserved for Singapore. For the more youthful RSN, it has preserved its first ship RSS Panglima’s gun mount that is now prominently displayed in the Navy Museum. This is the appropriate perspective for a young country with many more memories to be formed.

But even without the physical exhibits, the RSS Resolution’s full story and that of other retired platforms can be told and re-lived by its serving crew. Our museum planners are exploring the use of digital technology and virtual reality to provide visitors a first-hand experience of what it was like operating this ship and other vessels. We are also collating and curating stories from our ex-service personnel who have served on board RSS Resolution and other ships.

Together, these elements will offer a holistic experience to visitors, allow former crew of the RSS Resolution and other RSN veterans to share their personal stories with fellow Singaporeans, and honour the contribution and heritage of all our past warships and their servicemen and women.