Lawrence Wong's Commemorative Speech: Inspiring People with Personal Stories

Lawrence Wong

“As we learn from history, let us always look ahead to the future and move forward for the common good.”

Such was the lesson taught by Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, speaking at a ceremony on August 27, 2015 to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the end of World War II. 

To commemorate Singapore’s liberation, Wong wisely looked back at the past and toward the future. After all, we learn from the past. We also understand that individual people experienced every heroic act and every brutal event. We know that each scintilla of hope exists only because a human being carries it. By shining forth the examples of people from the past and present, Wong served the highest value of commemoration. It was not his purpose to lecture people about events they already knew; no, his purpose was to inspire--to teach by relating personal stories. 

World War II, history’s most awful war, created suffering and heroism that defy human understanding. The island of Singapore, which was a British colony at the time, suffered Japanese invasion and occupation. After a few months of fighting, the Japanese captured Singapore’s massive seaport and solidified their control of the region’s sea lanes. The Japanese occupation was notably cruel. More than 30,000 captured Allied troops eventually died in Japanese captivity.  

To emphasize history's lessons, Wong cited personal stories from the past and present. By bringing up his family’s war experience, praising a war hero, and then praising a young student who looked to the future, Wong gave a speech that exemplified the epideictic genre. Epideictic oratory, that is, ceremonial speaking that honors people for their past accomplishments, uses examples to inspire our future actions.

Lessons from the Past

Speaking from the same room in Singapore’s National Gallery where Lord Mountbatten accepted Japan’s 1945 surrender in the Southwest Pacific, Wong began with stories of wartime suffering.

“It was my late grandfather, who would share with us stories of the Occupation – the food shortages, the illnesses they suffered, and also the lives lost, including that of his brother, my granduncle. He was rounded up with several young men in the village by soldiers then, late at night, and they never returned.”

 Continuing, Wong pointed out how important it is to remember the past:

“So we rely on memories like these, as well as the accounts we have just heard from people like Major Singh and Professor Thumboo. We remember the past in this dark and difficult period of our history.”

Those personal stories carried emotional meaning that would have eluded dry historical summaries. In addition, Wong recognized the sacrifices of the heroes who fought for Singapore’s freedom. Toward that end, the event’s organizers had gathered survivors to sit in the front row for the ceremony. Wong told the story of one Singaporean war hero: 

“One example is Captain Ho Weng Toh, who is 95 this year, and is here with us today. Captain Ho trained in the States with the US Army Air Force, and became a pilot with the Chinese-American bomber squadron known as the ‘Flying Tigers’. They were based in the Shanxi province in China, fighting against the Japanese forces then.”

As Wong continued, he explained that Captain Ho was a symbol of the “countless others” who “inspired us through their actions.” Bringing the point to a climax, Wong emphasized that, “We owe them a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid”

Wong then asked the veterans to stand for applause.

Lessons for the Future

We wisely revisit the past so we can learn lessons and do better in the future. That is why, after praising the heroes of the past, Wong underlined that the occupation taught Singapore to gain strength and compassion: 

“The common experience of Occupation strengthened the people's mettle. It shaped their resolve to ensure that their children should never suffer in the same way. It catalyzed the building of our nation and forged a common identity out of a community of diverse immigrants.”

To emphasize the future, Wong introduced a 17-year-old student, Jamie Ng. He credited her with introducing the idea for the 70^th anniversary commemoration. Drawing from her experience and wisdom, Wong taught a lesson of peace and friendship: 

“Jamie has a keen interest in World War II history, and I understand her grandparents experienced the war. She shared with us that the most important thing her World War II studies have taught her is the need to prevent war, and to preserve harmony, understanding and friendship between nations.”

So, Wong moved from lamenting the war’s horrors, to praising the past’s heroes, and finally to the values that can guide Singapore’s future.

"A New Era:" General Douglas' MacArthur's Speech on the USS Missouri

George W. Bush on 9/11: A Message of Unity; Have We Forgotten?

The Lesson Learned

Wong advised the audience to learn from history and to move toward the time ahead, standing up for one’s values along the way. Good advice for any commemoration: 

“So as we learn from history, let us always look ahead to the future and move forward for the common good. Let us be a people that keeps faith with our past; a nation that stands up for its values; a Singapore that we will always be proud to call home.”

Wong’s approach was vastly more potent than a dry, academic recital of statistics. He could have remarked that perhaps 50 million people died in World War II. He could have stated how many thousands of Singaporeans died during the war, or how many starved, or how many were brutally murdered by Japanese forces. Mere statistics, however, rarely move the human heart. No, it is personal stories that move the heart. Thus, Wong wisely chose to emphasize the personal. His stories of his grandfather, Captain Ho Weng Toh, and student Jamie Ng touched the soul as well as the mind.

by William D. Harpine

___________

P.S. Lawrence Wong has since assumed office as the Prime Minister of Singapore. He is a member of Singapore’s People’s Action Party, the centrist regime that exercises Singapore’s government. Given Singapore’s de facto one-party rule, Freedom House rates Singapore at 48/100, “Partly Free,” as compared with the United States, 84/100 (“Free”) or Canada, 97/100 (“Free”). Finland rates 100/100, so the rest of us have room to improve. 

Research Note: For readers who want to know more about the often-underestimated genre of epideictic rhetoric, Professor Dale Sullivan wrote a terrific article on the topic. More ambitious readers might look at the relevant sections of The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation, by Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca. I have been lucky enough to publish a few pieces about epideictic rhetoric; click on the ribbon link above for William D. Harpine's Publications.

Copyright © 2025 by William D. Harpine

Image of Lawrence Wong: United States Department of Defense, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons  

"A New Era:" General Douglas' MacArthur's Speech on the USS Missouri

Douglas MacArthur on the USS Missouri

“Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won.”

So said General of the Army Douglas MacArthur eighty years ago, as he spoke over the radio from the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on September 2, 1945. The Pacific war was over. And MacArthur offered the United States, the assembled delegates – and the world – wisdom for the future. Wisdom that we have, I regret to say, sadly forgotten. Ceremonial speeches praise what is good and condemn what is bad, while offering values that can guide us. MacArthur urged people to build a world of spiritual and humanitarian growth.

In that vein, although World War II was an unfathomable cataclysm, MacArthur offered an opportunity and a warning:

“A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization.”

As a shaky world emerged from the war’s horrors, MacArthur offered, not fear, not hatred, but a “new era.” Unlike many world leaders from past to present who celebrated victory as vengeance, MacArthur instead called for peace and preservation:

“We must go forward to preserve in peace what we won in war.”

With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki only a few weeks in the past, MacArthur warned that, not war, but only spiritual and moral awakening could preserve humanity. The disaster that authoritarian governments had wreaked upon the world proved, MacArthur explained, that:

“We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.”

Harry Truman’s Atomic Bomb Speech Revealed “The Power of the Laboratories”

Adolf Hitler's Speech in the Berlin Sportpalast: God and Power

Note, please, that MacArthur admired human advances in knowledge, art, industry, and culture, but those advances were, he reminded us, not sufficient. To avoid destruction, humanity must revitalize the spirit. We must, he insisted, have a spiritual rebirth. It would not be enough merely to preserve the human character – for, as he knew all too well, human character had created World War II – but we also needed an “improvement of human character.” His lesson was that the new technologies that have been created in peace and war alike will serve us only if we improve our souls.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Speech about the Struggle for Freedom

MacArthur’s warning, however, called us to hard reality. Hitler and Nazi Germany had promised to create the Master Race. They created only ruin. Japanese war dogma preached the doctrine of indomitable fighting glory. They only created radioactive rubble. That is why MacArthur began his speech by praising democracy and freedom. And that is why his final point resonates today, when he called for a world:

“...based upon a tradition of historical truth as against the fanaticism of an enemy supported only by mythological fiction.”

So, as he summed up with a militaristic metaphor, MacArthur stated the cause of peace and justice:

“Today, freedom is on the offensive, democracy is on the march.”

However, in 2025, is freedom still on the march? As you look back, have we fulfilled MacArthur’s vision for “a new era?” MacArthur gave our forebears cause to reflect. If we ever think to retreat into ourselves, to shirk compassion and to eschew responsibility, will MacArthur’s vision have been in vain? In a larger context, have we in 2025 achieved the “improvement in human character” which MacArthur advocated? Or have we, in the United States, fallen victim to conspiracy theories (what MacArthur’s speech called “mythological fiction”), which lead overconfident people to tremble in terror from make-believe dangers? Do we want democracy and freedom to march forward, or shall we instead cling to our memories of a glorious past that never really existed? Do we constantly seek to improve our character and spiritual health, or will we, as so many nations have done throughout history, sink into cold indifference? Will we waste what MacArthur called “our last chance?” Such are the value questions that MacArthur addressed. 

Indeed, every good ceremonial (or epideictic) speech espouses values and offers at least generalized advice for the future. Speaking eighty years ago, MacArthur said much that can inspire us today. Can we honor the sacrifices of World War II and continue to build “a new era?” Heaven help us if we do not.

On a personal note, many American families can recall tales of selfless sacrifice. My father, Sergeant Casper Allen Harpine, Jr., earned battle stars for Operation Torch and Operation Dragoon. My father-in-law, Gunner’s Mate Third Class Jesse Doyle Clanton, was a disabled veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic. My mother’s brother, Private First Class Peter Feduska, died fighting Nazis in the Ardennes forest at Christmastime, 1944. Countless thousands of such stories can be told. Those men and women served to bring about “a new era.” We can best honor the Greatest Generation’s memories by seeking MacArthur’s vision: to “go forward to preserve in peace what we won in war.”

by William D. Harpine   

_____________________

Historical Note:

During his long career, Douglas MacArthur had many military triumphs (like the Inchon landing) and his share of disasters (like the failed invasion of North Korea). The public admired MacArthur’s eloquent speaking and strong sense of values. Presidents worried about his publicity-seeking egotism. He was at times disciplined, and, at other times, despicably insubordinate. In my view, however, his greatest accomplishment was that he and his staff organized the postwar occupation of Japan to create a lasting parliamentary government that respects human rights and became a force for peace and prosperity in the western Pacific. That alone was accomplishment enough for a lifetime.

Image: US Navy photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Copyright © 2025 by William D. Harpine

"Peace for Our Time?" Neville Chamberlain's Speech about Appeasement

Neville Chamberlain

After the September 1938 Munich conference, at which he caved into all of Adolf Hitler’s territorial demands, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain promised “peace for our time.”

Wow, was he ever wrong! Wanting something does not make it so. Today, too many of the United States’ conservative leaders have forgotten that cruel lesson.

Yes, Chamberlain wanted “peace for our time.” Don’t we all? Unfortunately, it’s the details that matter!

We study historical speeches so that we can learn from history. In the brief speech that Chamberlain gave when he returned from Munich, Chamberlain explained neither how nor why appeasement would bring peace. What he did not say was more important than what he did say. Chamberlain did not say, “trust Hitler, but verify.” He just implied, “trust Hitler.”

Yes, history is a cruel teacher, and naïveté brings its own punishment. Yes, we can learn much by studying great speeches. Sometimes, however, we can learn even more by studying horrendous speeches, like Chamberlain’s brief, soothing talk. Chamberlain taught the world a cruel lesson that we have, unfortunately, now forgotten: bullies think that appeasement represents weakness. An appeased bully is a dangerous bully.

The idea behind the Munich conference was that the Western powers could (without asking Czechoslovakia), cede part of Czechoslovakia to Germany. The territory in question, the Sudetenland, was a group of large German-speaking provinces. Chamberlain believed that that this huge concession would satisfy Adolf Hitler’s territorial demands. Hitler would, Chamberlain believed, calm down and be satisfied, and the world would hum along. 

Nothing new under the sun! Stunningly, United States Senator J. D. Vance recently said of Russia’s attack on Ukraine: “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”

The Munich Agreement

Arriving at the Prime Minister’s official residence at 10 Downing Street in London, on September 30, 1938, Chamberlain read aloud a brief statement that he and Hitler had jointly drafted:

“We, the German Führer and Chancellor, and the British Prime Minister, have had a further meeting today and are agreed in recognizing that the question of Anglo-German relations is of the first importance for our two countries and for Europe.

“We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again. We are resolved that the method of consultation shall be the method adopted to deal with any other questions that may concern our two countries, and we are determined to continue our efforts to remove possible sources of difference, and thus to contribute to assure the peace of Europe.” [Italics added]

Czechoslovakia, which lacked Britain and Germany’s military power, did not agree to any of this. Instead, in the time-honored tradition of European foreign policy, the powerful nations treated small nations like pawns on a chessboard. 

Continuing, Chamberlain made his own personal statement:

“My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour.

“I believe it is peace for our time...

“Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.”

Chamberlain meant the sleep of foolishness, I guess. 

Hitler promptly removed the Sudetenland’s non-German population. Within a matter of months, Hitler arrogantly annexed all of Czechoslovakia. Much later, Chamberlain gave a longer speech in which he explained that he had believed Hitler’s obviously insincere promises. Too late! 

World War II Ruins of Hamburg, Germany

In any case, 11 months after the Munich conference, on September 1, 1939, Hitler’s massive war machine struck out at Poland – another innocent nation that had the misfortune to have a German-speaking minority – and World War II gradually flamed across Europe. Breaking his word, Hitler had already invaded all of Czechoslovakia, promptly revoking basic human rights for that nation’s non-German population. By 1945, more than 50 million people had died. The larger part of the dead were civilian massacre victims. Millions of Jews died in Heinrich Himmler’s concentration camps. Much of Europe was laid to waste, and Germany’s great cities had been reduced to piles of dusty, smoking rubble.

That is not what I would call “peace in our time.”


Earlier Post: Adolf Hitler's Speech in the Berlin Sportpalast: God and Power 

Earlier Post: Biden's 2024 State of the Union Warned of Impending Calamity

We Can Learn Lessons

Where can we begin?

First, Chamberlain was stunningly naïve. Instead of giving truth to the British people (or even to himself), he offered them false hope. We sit on a stormy beach as a hurricane approaches, serenely confident that the violent waves will never wash us out to sea.​ Then, terror strikes when we realize that we should have heeded the warning.

Second, Chamberlain and Hitler taught us that brutal dictators are not to be trusted.


What about Today?

Germany today has regained its industrial and cultural might and its current government is a hallmark of representative government. After the war, the Allied nations created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance devoted to forestalling Russian aggression. Many terrible conflicts have afflicted the world since 1945, but the NATO alliance continues to guard a shaky peace among the major powers.

Still, many Americans, who often call themselves “conservatives,” have begun openly to excuse or even support Russia’s vicious aggression in Ukraine. As the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, rattles swords and makes blood-curdling threats, the voices of appeasement arise once more. Senator Tommy Tuberville openly praised Putin and bizarrely claimed that the NATO nations provoked Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In fact, Tuberville sneered at NATO during a Fox News appearance. Conservative opinion leader Tucker Carlson fawned over Putin during a lengthy interview. Presidential candidate Donald Trump claims that he will immediately end the war in Ukraine. How? Does he have a plan other than appeasement? If so, no one has heard it.

I am no foreign policy expert, and I will not speculate as to the best course of action. Almost everyone wants peace, yet violence constantly tears the world apart. Still, we learned one lesson from Neville Chamberlain’s short speech: bullies respect no one.


Sometimes the Doomsayers Are Right

Soon after the Munich agreement, British Conservative Party leader Winston Churchill gave a masterful speech criticizing appeasement. Sadly, history proves that Churchill’s warnings were correct.

Conclusion

When a naïve world leader tells us to get a nice quiet sleep, well, it’s time to start digging bomb shelters.

Wishing peace and happiness – and, most importantly, wisdom – to all…

by William D. Harpine

_________

P.S. Many of the Sudetenland's residents supported Hitler. Did that make appeasement right? What a hard question! Feel free to post comments.

By the way, a neighbor of mine survived the Hamburg firebombing (Operation Gomorrah) by swimming in the river. Lucky at that, because the fires sucked the oxygen out of the air raid shelters and her part of the river didn't boil. Never trust "strong" leaders like Hitler to keep you safe. They don't. "Strong" leaders are always dangerous. Never trust wimpy leaders like Chamberlain who tell you to "get a nice quiet sleep." Wisdom is not a political game. 

Copyright © 2024 by William D. Harpine

Image of Neville Chamberlain, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image of Hamburg, Crown Copyright, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons