5/5 Adam L. 3 years ago on Google
Civilian
War
Memorial
is
a
monument
dedicated
to
civilians
who
perished
during
the
Japanese
Occupation
of
Singapore
(1942–1945).
The
memorial’s
structure
comprises
four
tapering
columns
of
approximately
68
m
high.
These
columns
symbolise
the
merging
of
four
streams
of
culture
into
one
and
the
principle
of
unity
of
all
races.
On
13
March
1963,
the
Singapore
government
announced
that
it
would
set
aside
4.5
acres
(1.8
ha)
of
land
along
Beach
Road
for
the
building
of
a
memorial
and
park
to
commemorate
the
civilian
victims
massacred
during
the
Japanese
Occupation.
The
remains
from
the
discovered
mass
graves
would
be
cremated
and
the
ashes
placed
in
the
park.
Costing
$750,000,
the
government
would
pay
half
of
the
construction
cost
by
matching
public
donation
on
a
dollar-to-dollar
basis.
The
mass
graves
of
civilian
war
victims
were
found
in
several
locations
around
Singapore
in
1962.
More
than
40
of
these
mass
graves
came
from
Siglap’s
so-called
Valley
of
Death.
Till
this
date
ex-servicemen,
families
and
others
gather
at
the
memorial
every
year
on
15
February
to
commemorate
that
fateful
day.
It
was
known
that
a
ground-breaking
ceremony
was
held
on
1
November
1966
before
the
completion
of
the
memorial.
Some
606
urns
containing
the
remains
of
thousands
of
unknown
civilians
from
the
mass
graves
interred
on
either
side
of
the
memorial
podium,
it
further
added
to
the
material
significance
of
the
structure
whose
history
it
represents.
Since
the
Civilian
War
Memorial
monument
also
resembles
two
pairs
of
chopsticks,
it
is
also
affectionately
called
the
“chopsticks”
memorial.
The
memorial
was
officially
unveiled
by
then
Prime
Minister
Lee
Kuan
Yew
on
15
February
1967,
which
was
the
25th
anniversary
of
the
fall
of
Singapore.
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