20 February, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
20 Feb 1971: 66516279E Corporal Johan Hendrik Grobler from 1 Air Depot was critically injured in a private motor vehicle accident in Verwoerdburg on 16 February 1971 and transferred to 1 Military Hospital where he sadly succumbed to his injuries on 20 February 1971. He was 20.
20 Feb 1977: 76907470SP Rifleman H.M. Dos Santos from 32 Battalion was Killed in Action during a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola. He was 31.
20 Feb 1978: 05195789PE Warrant Officer Class I Andries Arnoldus Pienaar from the South African Ammunition Corps was found hanged at his home. No foul play was suspected. He was 51.
20 Feb 1981: 76225325BG Rifleman Sarel Phillippus Piek from 2 Field Engineer Regiment died in the Sick Bay at M’pacha after contracting cerebral meningitis. He was 21.
20 Feb 1983: Special Constable Johannes Joseph 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 23.
20 Feb 1985: Leading Seaman Derick Desmond Riley was serving at ComNav East in Durban. He was killed after suffering a bullet wound to the head when he was shot during an altercation with civilians outside the Butterworth Hotel in Durban. The incident occurred outside of normal working hours. He was 26.
20 Feb 1986: 83885251SWH Rifleman I Tjisemo from 102 Battalion SWATF was killed when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned in Northern Owamboland. He was 24.
20 Feb 1987: Airman Albert Osler Kieser from the Air Force Headquarters Media Section was murdered by persons unknown after being found drugged and hanged in Johannesburg. He was on official weekend pass at the time of the incident. He was 19.
20 Feb 1988: 72302342PM Major Edward Richard Every from 1 Squadron was Reported Missing during an Operational sortie over Southern Angola when his Mirage F1AZ 245 was shot down by a Soviet SA-13 Gopher Surface-to-Air Missile near Cuatir. The aircraft was seen to crash in flames and disintegrate on impact with the ground. Although he has no known grave, a Tribute Memorial Grave Headstone was subsequently erected in the Military Plot of the Thaba Tshwane (Voortrekkerhoogte) New Military Cemetery in his memory. He was 31.
A Special Forces team covering the area where the Mirage wreckage was located reported a large number of FAPLA and Cuban Air Force intelligence personnel picking through the wreckage and called in an artillery barrage onto the wreckage. The 32 Battalion MRL Rocket-Launcher Troop under the command of Pierre Franken hit the spot with a half-ripple of 127mm High Explosive Fragmentation Rockets. The Special Forces Team later observed two FAPLA Ural trucks collecting the bodies of more than 143 Cuban and FAPLA personnel that were killed by this rocket barrage.
20 Feb 1992: 71240287PE Staff Sergeant Freek Theodorus Saayman from the Army Catering Corps attached to 44 Parachute Regiment died of cancer in 2 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein. He was 36.
20 Feb 2001: 84752609KV Rifleman Dumisani John Zikhali from the Umkhombe Commando, was killed after being run over by a civilian motor vehicle while manning a roadblock. He was 35.
Their names and sacrifices have not been forgotten.