COMING TOGETHER FOR SINGAPORE'S 44TH BIRTHDAY BASH

On 9 Aug, the Float @Marina Bay was a sea of red as more than 27,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life came decked out in red attire to celebrate the nation's 44th birthday.

Themed Come Together - Reaching out, Reaching up, this year's National Day Parade (NDP) commenced with a spectacular display by the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Red Lions. Spectators held their breath as they watched the ten paratroopers free-fall from the sky, cheering wildly the moment their feet touched the ground.

Next up was the Total Defence Display, where land, sea and air elements of the SAF and other homeland agencies, came together to deal with a series of simulated terrorist threats. The audience was treated to high-speed boat chases just metres from the seating gallery, while a Chinook helicopter, hovering just above the water surface at the Marina Bay, created a magnificent downwash right in front of the Merlion.

Following that, the marching contingent - a traditional favourite of the NDP - saw thousands of personnel from the SAF, the Home Team and various uniformed groups forming up in neat rows as President S R Nathan inspected the parade. Accompanying his inspection was the firing of 21 rounds of the 25-pounder ceremonial guns positioned on Military Float Bridges right before the spectators - a first for any NDP.

Showing Singapore's resilience through the years, a series of newspaper clippings about SARS, economic recessions and other crises Singapore has weathered, was flashed on the screens while local artiste Koh Chieng Mun performed the song "I Will Survive".

After watching these moving scenes about Singapore's past, Ms Nor Azlin Bte Abdul Aziz, a 16-year-old student from JurongVille Secondary School, said: "I feel so proud to be a Singaporean! Having seen our past and how Singapore has grown, I realised that we should not take all that we have achieved for granted."

A medley of past NDP theme songs by the winner of Project Superstar (season one) Kelvin Tan and Gayle Nerva, finalist of Singapore Idol (season two), tugged at the heartstrings as the crowd chorused along to the familiar tunes.

A rousing performance of the NDP 2009 theme song entitled "What do you see" by local band Electrico brought the young and old on their feet, before culminating in the greatly-anticipated pledge moment at 8.22pm.

Following the SCDF chime that sounded throughout the island, all Singaporeans at the Marina Bay and beyond recited the pledge together, followed by the singing of the National Anthem. Cue the dazzling fireworks that lit the night sky, which was a fitting conclusion to the biggest party of the year.

While the impressive visual effects wowed 43-year-old doctor, Mr Joshua Kua, it was the pledge moment that touched him the most.

"It was very refreshing, and I felt a sense of belonging to the country while saying the pledge," he told cyberpioneer.

Mr Navin s/o Thanamurutuy, a 19-year-old student from Balestier Institute of Technical Education, gushed: "When the fireworks came on while we were singing the national anthem, I felt really touched, and my hairs were actually standing!"

"My dream for Singapore is that we will continue to be happy, and make even greater progress in the future."