SAF to bid farewell to Mr Lee Kuan Yew with highest honours: Dr Ng
PUBLISHED ONMarch 27, 2015 12:38 PM
SINGAPORE - The Singapore Armed Forces will bid farewell to the late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on Sunday with the "highest honours", Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post today.
The state funeral procession for Mr Lee which will be telecast live on national television and online at www.rememberingleekuanyew.sg, will commence at 12.30pm. It will cover a distance of 15.4km from Parliament House to the University Cultural Centre.
As the gun carriage carries Mr Lee's body from Parliament House, there will be a 21-gun salute fired by four ceremonial 25-pounder guns as the procession journeys around the Padang, Dr Ng said.
Four Black Knights from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)'s aerial display team, will also salute Mr Lee as his body passes City Hall with a missing man formation, where one Black Knight breaks off and heads off to the west, signifying Mr Lee's final flight in the direction of the setting sun.
The missing man formation is a tradition that dates back to World War I, and is used as a solemn aerial salute to honour deceased dignitaries or military aircrew.
"As Mr Lee's body crosses the Esplanade Bridge, Patrol Vessels RSS Dauntless and RSS Resilience will conduct a ceremonial sailpast off the Marina Barrage as our final salute," Dr Ng added.
"It will be a painful moment of finality and parting, but life will go on," Dr Ng said.
<< SAF’s final farewell to Mr Lee Kuan Yew>> The outpouring of love and respect for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, our...
Posted by Ng Eng Hen - Defence Minister on Friday, 27 March 2015
huizhen@sph.com.sg