16 May, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
16 May 1949: 32160 Private Solomon Leshago from the South African Army was boarded as medically unfit after being diagnosed with various ailments contracted while in active service. He was later admitted to 1 Military Hospital in Voortrekkerhoogte where he died from tubercular meningitis. He was 27.
16 May 1958: Seaman Johnnie van der Walt from Naval Base Simonstown was killed in a private motorcycle accident. He was 19.
16 May 1964: Six SADF members were killed when their Military Bedford was involved in a head-on collision with a Military Recovery Vehicle at Oudtshoorn while returning from a sports event at Uniondale. The casualties were:
P/23670 Staff Sergeant Abraham Carel Prinsloo from Infantry School. He was 30.
P/47351 Sergeant Johannes Hendrik August Agenbach from 1 Special Service Battalion. He was 22.
47320 Corporal Pieter Johannes Kotze from 2 SAI. He was 22.
P/25771 Trooper Izak Sybrand Visagie 1 Special Service Battalion. He was 20.
P/48357 Bombardier Johannes Adrianas Du Toit from 4 Field Regiment. He was 21.
P/52689 Rifleman Johannes Frederick Wepener from 4 Field Regiment. He was 18
16 May 1969: 05484670E Flight Sergeant James Edward Hutchinson from 42 Squadron was killed while on duty in the Electronics Workshop after he was accidentally shot with a private.22 pistol that another Squadron member had brought to the Base. While some of the staff were playing around with it, the weapon discharged and Hutchinson was fatally wounded in the chest. He was rushed to the Potchefstroom Hospital but was declared dead on arrival. He was 25.
16 May 1973: 05535174E Staff Sergeant Kevin Everitt Potgieter from 1 Parachute Battalion was killed in a parachute accident at Tempe. Kevin had been given a reserve chute by a family member that he decided to test. To do this, he had to first discard his main chute before using the reserve chute. After discarding his main parachute, he deployed the reserve chute but it unfortunately became entangled in the buckles of his main chute and then wrapped itself around him causing him to plunge to his death. He was 26.
16 May 1975: 01221621E Commandant Arend Hendrik van Schalkwyk Air Force Head Quarters suffered a fatal heart attack and died in 1 Mil Hospital, Pretoria. He was 37.
16 May 1981: 05693015PE Warrant Officer Class I Isaac Phillipus Venter from North West Command Headquarters was accidentally killed at Stilfontein after being knocked down by a civilian vehicle during the Republic Day preparation festivities. He was 57.
16 May 1981: 76555317BG Sapper Andre Petrus Jacobus Bloementhal from 8 Engineer Squadron was killed in a private motor vehicle accident in Fraserburg while on a weekend pass. He was 21.
16 May 1981: 76349216BG Rifleman Benjamin Buys from 16 Maintenance Unit was killed when his private motor vehicle overturned at Grootfontein. It appears that he had fallen asleep behind the wheel. He was 20.
16 May 1992: 88417001BG Gunner Kevin Paul Russell from 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment, was killed in a private motor vehicle accident after he lost control of his vehicle in poor weather conditions at Harrismith and the vehicle overturned. He was on a weekend pass at the time of the accident. He was 19.
16 May 1993: 90719139HB Rifleman Sindwane Nkosi attached to Northern Transvaal Command HQ Unit died of gunshot wounds at Tembisa after he was shot by persons unknown. He was 27.
16 May 1993: 77654945PC Warrant Officer Class II Patrick Ruiters from 3 SAI was killed in a private motor vehicle accident at Victoria West. He was 33.
16 May 1998: 91733121 Rifleman M R Moswane from the South African Infantry Corps was Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from his Unit when he was shot dead by persons unknown. He was 27.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.