Whenever the word hero is mentioned, everyone thinks about that comic book superhero that fights crime in movies or comic books, the one that always saves the day. But superheroes are merely a fantasy, they don't exist in the real world ! So, what is a hero then?
In the grim reality of this cruel world, people still stick to tradition , to be a hero, you have to be strong, have superhuman qualities that others don't possess, you have to be different.
But, A hero is an everyday person that can change the world.
It could be big, with great impact, or so small, and subtle that no one can notice it at all.
Anyone could be a hero, a police officer, a firefighter, a normal stranger that walks past you, or even you yourself.
A hero doesnt have to earn medals, get commended for what they've done, as long as you've benefited someone, helped someone, they too can be a hero.
Its courage that sets a hero apart from you and i. And courage is something that everyone possesses, just depending on whether they show it or not.
A hero is someone that earns your respect, and makes the world a better place.
And who fits the aforementioned criteria?
Lim Bo Seng, Singapore's very own hero, a world war 2 anti-japanese resistance fighter.
Born as the first male in the family to a wealthy businessman who owned a biscuit and brick manufacturing company,
In 1917, he came to Singapore at the age of 16 to study at Raffles Institution under the British Colonial Government. He later furthered his studies at The University Of Hong Kong.
During the Second Sino-Japanese war, Lim participated actively in activities organised by the Nanyang Federation to boycott Japanese goods and raise funds for the Chinese army.
On 01 February, Lim left Singapore and travelled to Sumatra with other Chinese community leaders and made his way to India later.
He recruited and trained hundreds of secret agents through intensive military intelligence missions from China and India.
He set up the Sino-British guerrilla task force Force 136 in mid-1942 together with Captain John Davis.
In May 1943, Lim sent the first batch of Force 136 agents to Malaya to conduct the operation codenamed Gustavus.
The operation aims to establish an espionage network in Malaya and Singapore to gather military intelligence about the Japanese forces to aid the British in planning their re-capture of the colonies from the Japanese, codenamed Operation Zipper.A Chinese provision shop in Ipoh, Jian Yik Jan, was used as an Allied espionage base. Communications between the agents were done by smuggling messages in empty toothpaste tubes, salted fish and diaries.
Lim arrived in Malaya in November 1943 and used the alias Tan Choon Lim to avoid identification by the Japanese, claiming to be a businessman when he passed through checkpoints.
Operation Gustavus failed before the agents managed to achieve any results.
An unknown communist guerrilla was captured by the Japanese in January 1944 and they revealed the existence of the Allied spy network operating on Pangkor Island.
The Japanese launched a full-scale counter espionage operation on the island and by late March 1944, more than 200 Japanese soldiers had landed on Pangkor Island.
On March 24, the Japanese Kempeitai arrested a fisherman, Chua Koon Eng, at Teluk Murrek on the Perak coast. Chua was working on Pangkor Island when Li Han Kwang of Force 136 approached him and requested to use his boat for their communications.
Chua told the Kempeitai what he knew when the Kempeitai threatened to kill civilians.
Li was later captured by the Japanese and he confirmed Chua's accounts of Force 136 under torture and then began to feign cooperation with the Japanese in order to escape captivity.
Lim was captured by the Japanese under Marshal Onishi Satoru at a roadblock in Gopeng the next day and taken to the Kempeitai headquarters for interrogation and he refused to provide the Japanese with any information about Force 136 despite being subjected to severe torture. Instead, he protested against the ill-treatment of his comrades in prison.
He fell ill with dysentery and was bedridden by the end of May 1944. Lim died in the early hours on June 29, 1944.
He was later buried behind the Batu Gajah prison compound in an unmarked spot.
After the Japanese surrender, Lim's wife, Gan Choo Neo, was informed of her husband's death by the priest of St. Andrew's School.
Gan travelled with her eldest son to bring her husband's remains home later. A funeral service was held on 13 January 1946 at City Hall to mourn Lim's death.
Lim's remains was transported in a coffin to a hill in MacRitchie Reservoir (coordinates: 1°20'31.76"N 103°49'50.60"E) for burial with full military honours.
Lim was posthumously awarded the rank of Major-General by the Chinese Nationalist Government.
Lim Bo Seng risked his life for his people, he lived and sacrificed for the welfare of others.
This, made his stand out. Making him a Hero.
The post done by this group has done a great job by explaining the definition of the word "hero". They shown what it takes to be a real hero and anybody can be a hero. However, I think they can improve on their post by elaborating on the hero their group is supposed to do on and what the hero did to make himself/herself a hero. They can also include what challenges the hero faced and how he/she manages to overcome the challenge in their post. By doing so, I am sure that we will be able to understand more about the hero and what makes him/her a hero.
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