19 April 2025, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Final Roll Call.
19 April 1968: Sergeant Nicolaas Gerhardus Strydom from 1 Air Depot collapsed and died after suffering a fatal heart attack. He was 53. He also served as a member of the Union Defence Force in South Africa during World War Two.
19 April 1980: 76528173BG Rifleman Jacobus Petrus Koekemoer from 7 SAI was accidentally killed after suffering multiple shrapnel wounds in a mortar bomb explosion during a live firing exercise in Northern Owamboland. He was 19.
19 April 1981: 78500741BG Rifleman Karel Johan Cronje from 5 SAI was based at Okalongo and had been feeling ill for approximately two weeks before he was evacuated to 1 Military Hospital after being diagnosed with cerebral malaria. He unfortunately succumbed to the disease shortly after admission. He was 19.
19 April 1984: 83061689CK Rifleman Frank Corrie from the South African Cape Corps died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound sustained when he accidentally discharged his own rifle while on foot patrol. He was 21.
19 April 1985: Special Warrant Officer Alfons Kumulo 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 37.
19 April 2022: K-9 Police Rescue Dog Leah drowned in the line of duty while trying to rescue a Police Diver Sergeant Busisiwe Mjwara who also drowned while searching for three family members who went missing in the Msunduzi River in Pietermaritzburg during the floods.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.