13 December, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
13 Dec 1950: Flight Sergeant Louis Harold Zimmerman from 1 Air Depot died as a result of accidental inhalation of carbon tetrachloride. He was 30.
13 Dec 1976: 70459615BT Lance Corporal William Hendrik Boucher from 95 Tactical Airfield Unit (Later Air Force Base Ondangwa) was part of the SAAF Guard detail on the Base when the Chaplains tent in the Air Force camp area caught fire due to an electrical short circuit in the light wiring where the wire entered the tent via the main tent pole. While assisting to activate a fire extinguisher, the pressure inside the extinguisher caused it to burst at the base weld and it took off like a rocket, striking him full in the face. The critically injured man was loaded onto a Land Rover and rushed to the Sick Bay but he succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter and was pronounced dead on arrival. It appears that the fire extinguisher had fallen over at some point and wet sand had dried inside the nozzle, blocking it completely. Once the extinguisher had been activated, the pressure build-up inside the cylinder caused the welded seam on the base to fail. He was 22.
13 Dec 1976: 67731356PE Commandant Christiaan Ernst van den Berg from Air Force Headquarters died in the HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria while undergoing open heart surgery. He was 34.
13 Dec 1977: 74362088PE Candidate Officer Gerard Genis from 4 Squadron was killed at Lanseria shortly after take-off in his Atlas MB326KM Impala Mk II, Serial Number 1016 when the radio compartment panel opened in flight causing the aircraft to roll inverted out of control. By the time the ejector seat activated, the aircraft was almost inverted causing the pilot to eject directly into the ground, killing him instantly. He was 19.
13 Dec 1980: 78395837PE Seaman Roland Larry Richter from Naval Base Durban died in the Addington Hospital in Durban after sustaining multiple injuries in a private motor vehicle accident. He was 17.
13 Dec 1981: Two members from the South West Africa Police Counter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K (Koevoet) were accidentally killed when their Casspir vehicle overturned during operations in Northern Owamboland. The casualties were:
W301498F Detective Constable Alwyn Christoffel Bezuidenhout. He was 25.
Special Constable Johannes Shitaleni. He was 33.
13 Dec 1985: 83904962SWK Rifleman J.N. Hamukwaya from 202 Battalion SWATF died in the Rundu State Hospital from injuries received when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned near Rundu. He was 23.
13 Dec 1987: 83428912BG Lance Corporal Martin Venter from 101 Battalion SWATF died in 1 Military Hospital after contracting cerebral malaria in the Operational Area. He was 20.
13 Dec 1987: 86068525CK Rifleman John Marcus Bothma from the South African Cape Corps was killed in a private vehicle accident at Usakos. He was 20.
13 Dec 1988: 87727046HJ Rifleman Alfred Mahlakwane from 116 Battalion was killed in a military vehicle accident at Pietersburg. He was 22.
13 Dec 1988: 87073862BG Private Jacob Janse from 6 Maintenance Unit was admitted to 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein suffering from liver cancer. He succumbed to the disease on 13 December 1988. He was 22.
13 Dec 1989: 77218279PE Captain André Johan Weber from the Directorate Military Intelligence was found dead in Pretoria with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 28.
13 Dec 1998: 96833363 Rifleman A Dulwini from 2 SAI accidentally drowned at Zeerust. He was 23.
13 Dec 1998: 94762200 Rifleman D M Modisetsi from 10 SAI died of disease in the Victoria Hospital at Mafikeng. He was 33.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.