19 May, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
19 May 1978: 7011316KT Rifleman Adriaan Adolf Jonker from the Midland Commando was killed after being struck by a bullet resulting from an accidental discharge of a fellow soldier’s rifle while he was serving in the Operational Area. He was 24.
19 May 1978: 05210968PE Major Richard William McIntosh from the Defence College in Pretoria suffered a heart attack while at the College. He was admitted to 1 Military Hospital where he sadly died later in the day. He was 37.
19 May 1980: 77255719BG Rifleman Frederick Johannes van der Merwe from Infantry School was killed after suffering critical head injuries when his private motor vehicle overturned 10km from Winburg while he was traveling home on a weekend pass. He was 18.
19 May 1983: 7643867BG Lance Corporal Colin Watson Kindness from 4 SAI, attached to A Company, C Squadron, 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was present when the Group formed a tight laager during the night to prevent a SWAPO/PLAN Special Forces group that were operating in the area, from trying to retrieve their comrade who had been captured earlier during the day. During the night, there was a change of guard at one of the early warning listening post outside the laager and Lance Corporal Kindness, who was the relief guard, got lost in the darkness while on his way to the post. Unbeknown to himself or anyone else, he accidentally walked into the kill zone of the Ratel Gunner on guard duty inside the laager, who reported movement in his area before opening fire with his browning machine gun. Lance Corporal Kindness was killed instantly by the burst of gunfire. He was 22.
19 May 1984: Special Constable Matheus Nghishikushtya from the South West African Police Counter-Insurgency Wing: Ops K Division (Koevoet) was Killed in Action during a contact with SWAPO/PLAN insurgents in Northern Owamboland. He was 26.
19 May 1987: 77350957BG Rifleman John Barnard from Regiment Bloemspruit was killed in a military vehicle accident at Van Stadensrus. He was 25.
19 May 1991: Sergeant André Willem de Klerk from Air Force Base Waterkloof was killed in a private motor vehicle accident. He was 28.
19 May 2019: Lieutenant General Denis John Earp SSA, SD, SOE, SM, AM (US), ORB (SAAF Retired), a former Chief of the South African Air Force (1984 to 1988) and Patron of the SAAF Association, attended the Annual Air Force Memorial Service at Bay’s Hill in the morning followed by the Annual Smuts Memorial Service at the Smuts House Museum in the afternoon. During the early evening he felt unwell and was admitted to 1 Military Hospital for observation where he later passed away after suffering a suspected heart attack. He was 88.
Lieutenant General Earp joined the SAAF in 1950 and after qualifying as a fighter Pilot, he served with 2 Squadron in Korea flying Mustangs where he was shot down and forced to bale out over enemy territory and was captured. He spent 23 months as a Prisoner of War in North Korea before being released.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.