How can I forget this day? 8th March 10997

Shit, I have only thought of this a couples of days ago, which I should post something up here in remembrance.

in 1997, 8th March, a sunday in New Zealand Waiouru military training ground. 23rd Singapore Artillery, Bravo battery, detachment 4 gun (5611) had a inborne explosion, killing 2 soldiers and badly injured the rest of the gunners and spectators.

It is fate I guess. ..

It was a beautiful sunday morning, with chill air blowing across this yellowish wide plain grass area, most of the guys almost don't want to get out of the nice warm sleeping bags. When the sun are up, my detachment gun 5, had received a firing mission. As a no.4 man myself, I need to prepare the 155mm TNT round for firing. Rounds are wipe clean, handles are replace with fuse and tighten with the fuse wrench.

It is not the first time we are firing, as all of us are experience in doing gun firing, after we went to thailand for 3 times, 1 time in taiwan, and this time, NZ.

We are excited, as this is the first time we are firing the FH2000, a improvised gun from the proven old gun FH88, which serve the army for more than 10 years.

While we are ready for fire mission, the order was cancelled, and switch to detachment 4 for firing instead, I was swearing and cursing in my heart while removing those fuse from the round and had to lay it back in position, and man, it is heavy.

So, as I was taking my brekafast, while watching gun 4 doing the preparation, first round goes off. I was enjoying the hot tea from the cup, looking at my fellow gunners firing round after round. and when this no. 7th round being ram into the chamber, it exploded!

I saw a black smoke with a huge ball of flame goes up, with the gun barrel dropping down, buring up the camoflage net as well. My first reaction was, shouting to the rest who are not aware of what is happening, to RUN!!!

Most of us just ran, we didn;t know how far we have ran until all of us are panting and proning on the ground, trying to see what is the later happening at the gun position. After waiting for a while, we hear nothing, see nothing, we start to proceed back carefully, fearing the remaining of the rounds on the ground may goes off as well. (the killing radius of the 155 is 50m)

It is chaos, but most of us ran back when we feel it is safe enough to render help to those injured guys, the scene is bad and the blown body, are beyond recognition...

Gun commander Sgt Ronnie and Pte Loh Yin Tik, was killed instantly. At least they didn;t suffer too long... and we have only 3 more months to ORD.

Investigation was out a few months after we have ORD. It was confirmed that the fuse we are using are faulty, and some of them, are already "armed", that explained the reason why upon raming the round into the chamber, activated the round to goes off. And what shock me most is, every detachments have all this faulty fuse!!!

I could have been killed, if it was my gun firing that morning!

perhap it is all fated.

Up till today, year 2008, 11 years have pass, but I still can remember the scene when explosion happens.

RIP my comrades... we will always remember you and the tough times we have been through.