14 February, let us pause to remember these young men and women from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
14 Feb 1965: Lance Corporal Cecil Derrick St. John Ayre from the Natal Carbineers died as a result of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head while playing “'Russian Roulette” while the Regiment was in camp at Potchefstroom. He was 22.
14 Feb 1978: 76907567SP Rifleman Macai Mandunga from 32 Battalion was accidentally killed after being shot in error while on patrol near Onehova in Southern Angola. He was 28.
14 Feb 1981: 05050257PR Warrant Officer Class I Nicholaas Willem Herbst from 1 Air Depot suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Pretoria. He was 64.
14 Feb 1987: Three members from South West Africa Police Counter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K Division (Koevoet) were Killed in Action in a well-laid ambush by SWAPO/PLAN insurgents near Eenhana in Northern Owamboland. Koevoet Combat Teams Zulu Juliet, Zulu 1 Juliet and Zulu Qubec requested casevac and Alouette III Helicopter Gunships for support. As soon as the casualties and bodies had been evacuated by Puma Helicopter, the Koevoet Combat teams picked up the spoor and began the follow-up with Helicopter Gunship support. In the subsequent contacts that followed during the pursuit operations, all seven SWAPO/PLAN insurgents were located and killed. The casualties were:
Lieutenant Colonel Gerhardus Lodewickus Steyn. He was 48.
Sergeant Christoffel Lodewikus Fourie. He was 28.
Constable Ryk Ludolph Erasmus. He was 20.
14 Feb 1988: Four Members from B Company 1 SAI including two Cousins acting as the MAG Light Machine Gunner team, were Killed in Action in South Eastern Angola during a contact with elements of the 59th FAPLA Brigade during Operation Hooper. The B Company, 1 SAI troops had not klaared out prior to deployment for Ops Hooper so they became 61 Mech Battalion Bravo Company Element and swopped over with A Company 4 SAI. Their Ratel Armoured Personnel Carrier, Callsign 22C was hit on the left hand side and knocked out by a 23mm Soviet ZU-23-2 Anti-aircraft gun deployed in the ground role. On the right hand side where the Groenewald Cousins had been sitting, a large hole was ripped out of the vehicle making it apparent that at some point, the Ratel had also been struck by a South African 105mm discarding sabot anti-tank round. The casualties in this action were:
84269315BG Corporal Jan Hendrik Kleynhans. He was 19.
85263262BG Rifleman Andre Schalk Groenewald. He was 18.
84358266BG Rifleman Pieter Henrich Groenewald. He was 19.
84477751BG Rifleman Vincent Vernon Nieuwenhuizen. He was 19.
14 Feb 1990: 84470228PE Corporal Pieter Gabriel Jacobus Haasbroek from 4 Reconnaissance Regiment was accidentally killed when his parachute failed during a practice jump at the Saldanha Airfield near Vredenburg. He was 21.
14 Feb 1990: 89737035HG Rifleman Gugulethu Desmond Zondi from 121 Battalion died in the Wentworth Hospital after being critically injured in a military motor vehicle accident at Umhlanga Rocks. He was 25.
14 Feb 1991: 86437498BG Lance Corporal Deon Schutte from Group 33 was based near the Mozambique border when one of the South African Cape Corps soldiers who had been denied medication that he had demanded earlier in the day, took another soldier hostage. Deon was woken up in the middle of the night and requested to intervene to diffuse the situation. While trying to negotiate with the soldier holding the hostage, the soldier shot him in the chest at point blank range, killing him instantly. He was 20.
14 Feb 1994: On the evening of 14 February 1994, three APLA operatives attacked the Crazy Beat Discotheque in Newcastle with automatic weapons and hand grenades. One female civilian was killed and several others were injured in the attack. The three APLA operatives, Bongani Malevu, Andile Shiceka and Falibango Tanda were all later granted amnesty for this attack in 1998. The female civilian casualty in this attack was:
Miss Gerbrecht Solomia van Wyk
14 Feb 1998: 84744556PE Warrant Officer Class II (Mrs) Danell Breed from the School of Artillery was shot dead by her ex-husband during an altercation while off duty in Potchefstroom. She was 46.
14 Feb 1998: 89714141 Lance Corporal P.S. Ntebe from 21 Battalion was found dead in Sharpeville with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 33.
Their names and sacrifices have not been forgotten.