Today, 7 August, we salute and honor the following men who sacrificed their lives whilst standing in the defence of what they held dear at the time and against evil and tyranny.
SOUTH AFRICAN BORDER WAR
07 Aug 1951: P1/10099 Major Brian Brain, Acting Officer Commanding Air Force Base Ysterplaat died in 2 Military Hospital after suffering a Cerebral Haemorrhage. He was 34.
07 Aug 1973: Three members from 2 SAI were killed while undergoing Driver and Maintenance training when their Bedford truck collided with an Eland Armoured Car on a narrow bridge on the Walvis Bay to Windhoek road and overturned. The casualties were:
- 71537872N Rifleman Kenneth Frampton Beghin. He was 18.
- 71409148N Rifleman Christos Constatinou. He was 18.
- 71438121N Rifleman Ralph George Leggett. He was 18.
07 Aug 1976: 73118127KT Lance Corporal Charles Henry Hendersen from the Cradock Commando was Killed in Action when he stepped on a landmine near Oshikango while on patrol. He was 29.
07 Aug 1981: 76362060BG Lance Corporal Jan Mathys de Beer from Air Force Base Waterkloof died in the H.F. Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria after being critically injured in a private motor vehicle accident. He was 21.
07 Aug 1983: Two members from 202 Battalion SWATF were Killed in Action during a contact with SWAPO/PLAN insurgents. The casualties were:
- 83894089SWK Rifleman S. Kavarata. He was 21.
- 82901182SWK Rifleman A.H. Katanga. He was 22
07 Aug 1984: 81265829BG Rifleman Johannes Hendrik Strydom from the Infantry School died from a gunshot wound sustained as a result of an accidental discharge of a fellow soldiers rifle while at the De Brug Training Area. He was 19.
07 Aug 1987: Two members from 121 Battalion were killed when their Buffel Troop Carrier overturned at Ngwavuma near Pongola. They were:
- 86107158HG Rifleman Sikhumbuzo Eric Mbambo. He was 21
- 86106812HG Rifleman Alpheus Dumdum Mbambo. He was 24
07 Aug 1989: 86403094BG Rifleman Jacques Stefan Barkhuizen from Infantry School was killed in a private motor vehicle accident at Hopetown while on route to a tug of war competition. He was 19.
07 Aug 1991: 70000880PE Commandant Frederick Marthinus Ferreira from Eastern Province Command was killed when his military vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a civilian vehicle at Grahamstown. He was 51.
RHODESIAN BUSH WAR
1977 – DSA John Ndebele, Kp Prtn Intaf, KIA in a contact in Lupane, Op Tangent.
1979 – Gd J. Meleki, RHQ Bravo, Op Thrasher GF, DOAS.
1980 – PO Thomas Lawrie, SU BSAP, KOAS in a vehicle accident whilst in between service with the BSAP Support Unit. The Hyena mine-protected vehicle he was driving overturned, resulting in his death.