17 October, let us pause to remember these young men and women from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
17 Oct 1957: P19122 Private Reynier Bernado Henning from the Technical Service Corps was killed in a private motorcycle accident on the Johannesburg to Pretoria road. He was 19.
17 Oct 1977: 68986223KT Corporal Karel Christiaan Strydom from the Klein Karoo Commando was accidentally killed in a shooting incident at Nkurenkuru near Rundu. Orders had been given that nobody was to leave the area where the patrol was camped without first notifying the sentries. During the night, he inadvertently moved out of the area without contacting a sentry and upon his return, a sentry mistook him for a SWAPO/PLAN insurgent who were known to be operating in the area at the time and opened fire, mortally wounding him in the stomach. He Died of Wounds before medical assistance arrived. He was 33.
17 Oct 1977: 74447913BA Sapper Johannes Hercules Viljoen from 2 Field Engineer Regiment was killed near Kwando as a result of a gunshot wound accidentally self-inflicted. While cleaning his rifle, the weapon discharged and he was struck in the chest by a bullet. He was 19.
17 Oct 1981: 73321002BT Lieutenant Ferdinand Theodore Edeling from 102 Battalion SWATF accidentally drowned at Epupa Falls while participating in operations in Southern Angola. He was 24.
17 Oct 1982: 76695352CK Corporal Adam Johannes Barends from the South African Cape Corps was killed in a private motor vehicle accident on the Grabouw to Botrivier road. He was 24.
17 Oct 1983: 80400344BG Rifleman Tian van Jaarsveld from 8 SAI was a member of a patrol that was in the process of checking their kit just outside the base at Okalongo prior to heading out on a patrol. It was during this process that an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket carried by another soldier was accidentally discharged and he was critically wounded. He was evacuated to 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria where he sadly Died of Wounds. He was 19.
17 Oct 1984: Special Constable Elifas Ipinge from the South West Africa Police Counter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K Division (Koevoet) was Killed in Action during a contact with SWAPO/PLAN insurgents in Northern Owamboland. He was 28.
17 Oct 1986: Two members from the Sasol Commando were killed in a military vehicle accident at Deneysville while returning from a military funeral. They were:
65934903KV Commandant Wallace Goosen. He was 56.
08051088KV Captain Christiaan Johannes Cloete. He was 63.
17 Oct 1993: 90256421BG Private Trent Horace Oostenbrink from Natal Command Workshop was killed in a private motorcycle accident on the Southern Freeway in Durban after he lost control of his motorcycle in wet conditions and struck a lamppost. He was 19.
17 Oct 1994: 89753354PE Rifleman Matome Raymond Matlopela from 118 Battalion was killed in a private motor vehicle accident in while Absent Without Leave (AWOL). He was driving under the influence of alcohol when his Toyota Cressida was involved in a multiple vehicle collision. He was 24.
17 Oct 1998: 97260079 Rifleman M S Thulare from the Army Battle School accidentally drowned in the swimming pool. He was 19. .
17 Oct 2012: Private Vincent Mthuthuzeli van der Walt from 10 South African Infantry Battalion was Killed in Action while serving with the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur, Sudan. He was part of the UNAMID (UN African Mission to Darfur) Peacekeeping Force and was on route from Kutum to Hashaba when their vehicle was ambushed 10km outside of Hashaba North. He was 23.
17 Oct 2021: Lieutenant Colonel (Miss) Caro Duven, a serving Pilot from 28 Squadron collapsed and died after suffering a fatal heart attack. She was 41.
Their names and sacrifices have will not be forgotten.