02 March, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
02 Mar 1981: 77504025PE Rifleman Peter Hall from 1 SAI was accidentally killed during anti-insurgent operations in the Eenhana Area. He was 19.
02 Mar 1982: One member of 201 Battalion SWATF was killed and another Died of Wounds sustained in an accidental explosion inside an ammunition bunker at Omega Base. The casualties were:
76905355SP Rifleman Lewis Francesco Died of Wounds. He was 22.
76905249SP Rifleman Dumba Catumbele was killed in the explosion. He was 23.
02 Mar 1984: 74268624KT Rifleman Hendrik Francois van der Merwe from the Vanderbijlpark Commando apparently drowned in unknown circumstances. His body was never located and he remains unaccounted for. For administrative purposes, he was officially declared dead by the State President in 1986. He was 25.
02 Mar 1985: 84076033CK Rifleman Hilton Isaac Jacobs from the South African Cape Corps was killed in a Military Vehicle Accident at Kuils River. He was 20.
02 Mar 1986: 80433949BT Sapper Daniel Wilhelmus van Schalkwyk from 11 Field Engineer Regiment was killed in a Military Vehicle Accident at Messina. He was 22.
02 Mar 1986: 64279094PE Staff Sergeant Jan Lucas Cornelius Blignaut from Group 14 died in 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria after suffering a fatal heart attack. He was 38.
02 Mar 1988: Special Sergeant Hepute Wakumbilwa 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 27.
02 Mar 1988: 85099182PE Staff Sergeant Heinrich Korf from the Personnel Service Corps, attached to Northern Cape Command Headquarters, was found dead in Kimberley after apparently taking his own life by gassing himself. No foul play was suspected. He was 34.
02 Mar 1990: 89229462BG Gunner Jan Hendrik Rochholz from 10 Artillery Brigade died from injuries received in a military minibus vehicle accident on 01 March 1990 when the vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a truck on the Pretoria to Potchefstroom Road while returning to Potchefstroom. He was 18.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.