12 May, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
12 May 1951: P1/40566 2/Lieutenant Christiaan Hattingh Venter from Air Operations School Langebaanweg was killed when his Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXE 5534 crashed into sea off the Toothrock Weapons Range near Saldanha. After carrying out a rocket attack, he pulled out very low and the aircraft appeared to stall and dived steeply into the sea. He was 20.
12 May 1973: 67245654V 2/Lieutenant Jacobus Petrus Kolver from 6 Squadron was killed when his AT-6 Harvard 7126 stalled and spun into the ground near the Sundays River during a routine general flying training sortie. He was 21. {Note: His brother died in same air crash; Civilian, Johannes Deon Kolver, Aviation Technician for SAA at Jan Smuts airport, attached to the South African Air Force, He was 23.
12 May 1975: 70387378N Trooper Pieter Gabriel Eybers from 2 Special Service Battalion was killed when he accidentally fell out of a patrol observation post somewhere in Northern Owamboland. He was 20.
12 May 1980: 76451517BG Rifleman Cornelius Johannes Nortje from 1 SAI attached to 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was killed when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned in Northern Owamboland. He was 19.
12 May 1980: 71428064PE Lieutenant Pierre Andre van Heerden from the South African Air Force died in Pretoria from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 24.
12 May 1981: 76498799PE Corporal David Jacobus Pieterse from 3 Satellite Radar Station at Klippan was killed in a private motor vehicle accident near Mafeking. He was 20.
12 May 1982: 81564692PF Lance Corporal Michael Simon Ngoma from 5 Reconnaissance Regiment died from gunshot wounds accidentally sustained. He was 24.
12 May 1983: 74430166BT Rifleman Frank Paul Couvelis from 912 Battalion SWATF was Killed in Action in Southern Angola when his convoy was ambushed by a numerically superior enemy force. The leading vehicle in which he was travelling, was hit by RPG-7 Anti-Tank Rockets and as he was disembarking from the vehicle he received a fatal gunshot wound to the head and died at the scene. At the time of his death, he was currently completing his 7th compulsory 30-day Camp in the Operational Area. He was 25.
12 May 1983: 79496709BG Private Stefan Willem Welgemoed from the South African Medical Services College, was attached to Naval Base Durban when he was killed in a Military Vehicle Accident at Richmond. He was 19.
12 May 1985: 76907062SP Corporal Antonio Dala from 32 Battalion died after suffering a fatal heart attack while in 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria. He was 35.
12 May 1988: 79562583BT Rifleman Dean Anthony Lones from Regiment Dan Pienaar was killed in a military vehicle accident at Hazyview near White River. He was 25.
12 May 1993: 89813703HD Rifleman Phomi Meckson Ngobeni from 7 SAI died of malaria in 1 Military Hospital. He was 25.
12 May 1993: 90424011BG Lance Corporal Bradley Richardson-Smith from 1 Special Service Battalion was killed when his Rooikat Armoured Car overturned near Postmasburg while traveling in a convoy from Bloemfontein to the Army Battle School at Lohatlha. He was 19.
12 May 1994: 93743573PY Sapper Alfred Sebolai Sereko from 1 Construction Regiment died from multiple injuries received when he was run over by a civilian motor vehicle at Dunnottar. He was 27.
12 May 1994: 91749689PE Lance Corporal Emanuel Mogale Ramaila from 1 Reconnaissance Regiment was accidentally killed in a shooting incident at Fort Scorpio, Madimbo Base. He was 23.
12 May 2009: Three members from 17 Squadron were killed when their Augusta A109 Helicopter 4022 crashed into the Woodstock Dam near Bergville in Kwazulu Natal while en route to Dragon Peaks Park for mountain training exercises. The casualties were:
Captain Wayne Bongani Mdluli. He was 34
Lieutenant Simon Lehlohonolo Baloyi. He was 27
Flight Sergeant Moné Izak Zuidmeer He was 32.
12 May 2015: Warrant Officer Class II Joshua Mnguni from 21 Battalion died as a result of poisoning while deployed in the Kruger National Park. He was 43.
12 May 2016: 78367026MI Colonel Chris R. Opperman, a SAAF Helicopter Pilot serving at the Chief Joint Operations Division, was critically injured in a private motorcycle accident on the R55 where the road enters Thaba Tshwane (Voortrekkerhoogte). He succumbed to his injuries in 1 Military Hospital at 13h00 the same day after complications set in. He was 53.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.