First Singapore Armed Forces Day
Tuesday, 1st July 1969
The first Singapore Armed Forces Day (SAF Day) saw a 1,500-strong contingent of servicemen and women in a grand parade finale and march past at Jalan Besar Stadium. In a day filled with muster parades, open houses and pledges of loyalty, the most solemn moment was the presentation of the SAF Flag for the first time to the 3rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (3 SIR) by the then Minister for Interior and Defence, Mr Lim Kim San.
On the presentation of the SAF Flag to 3 SIR, Mr Lim, in his speech, said that the gesture was, "symbolic of the trust the nation had placed upon the Armed Forces.... this Flag will from this day on be a focal point of our loyalty to the Republic's Armed Forces. It is your duty to honour your Flag and in doing so renew and augment your devotion to both the Flag and the Armed Forces. Let no serviceman ever forget what the SAF Flag stands for and as we parade before the Flag, we give our pledge to the Nation and that we will be ever ready to defend it."