13 April, let us pause to remember these young men from our generation who answered the Sunset call.
13 April 1974: Two members of 11 Squadron SAAF were Killed when their Cessna 185D, Serial Number 743, crashed shortly after take-off from Mpalela Island in Eastern Caprivi during a ration re-supply flight for the South African Police. The casualties were:
67280784E 2/Lieutenant (Pilot) Jacobus Hendrik Louw Bonthuys. He was 23.
71222913BT Private Johan Hugo Human. He was 19.
13 April 1976: 72541816BG Corporal Anton Leon Broodryk from 1 Parachute Battalion Died of Wounds received in a landmine explosion in Southern Angola while on patrol near the Cut-line. He was 20.
13 April 1976: 69154888KV Captain Granville Duvenhage from Benoni Commando suffered a fatal heart attack and died while on duty at Leydsdorp. He was 26.
13 April 1976: 72430465BA Rifleman Eugene Medhurst from 5 SAI was Killed in Action during a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola. He was 19.
13 April 1979: 76245679BG Corporal Rian Rix from 11 Commando Regiment was Killed in Action during a fierce contact with SWAPO/PLAN insurgents near Okatope Base, South of Ondangwa. This was his last patrol before returning home on completion of his tour of Border Duty. He was 18.
13 April 1982: 79339602BG Rifleman Eugene James Ashford from 8 SAI was accidentally shot dead during live firing exercises at Riemvasmaak. He was 18.
13 April 1987: 85352708BG Private Frederick Wayne Childsmith from the Provost School was killed while standing in a "Ride Safe " zone on his way back from a Weekend pass after completion of Basic Training when he was accidentally run over by an South African Police vehicle driven by an underage scholar (apparently the son of a Senior Police Superintendent) who was not authorised to drive the vehicle. He was 18.
13 April 1988: 78402195PE Captain Hendrik Pienaar from the South African Infantry Corps, attached to Group 70 Headquarters at Katima Mulilo, was killed instantly approximately 30 km outside Rundu after suffering fatal head injuries while driving to Windhoek to attend an Information/Intelligence Conference. The prop shaft of his military vehicle broke and dug into the road surface, causing the vehicle to immediately flip over. He was 25.
13 April 2000: 96717194PW 2/Lieutenant Andrew Patrick Leith from 44 Squadron was killed when his Cessna 185A, Serial Number 729 crashed 56 km South of Komatipoort near the Moçambique Border while on a routine border patrol. He was 21. The three passengers in the aircraft, Captain Rassie Botes, Sergeant Werner Grobelaar and Corporal Lindie Marcus from Air Force Base Hoedspruit were all evacuated to 1 Military Hospital with serious injuries.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.