24 November, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
24 Nov 1951: Pupil Pilot Brian William Ridge from 7 Air Auxiliary Training Wing in Port Elizabeth was killed when his Harvard 7230 crashed and burnt out at Tankatara after he attempted to execute a roll while at low level. He was 20.
24 Nov 1955: P1/41625 Lieutenant Bryan Michael Fletcher from 2 Squadron was killed when his De Havilland Vampire FB 9, Serial 246 flew into the ground while he was practising for an air display for the official opening of the Louis Botha Airport in Durban. He was 26.
24 Nov 1962: P1/41149 Lieutenant Henry Landsberg from 40 Squadron was killed when his Harvard 7704 crashed near Grassmere after the aircraft entered a spin from which the Pilot was unable to recover. He was 30.
24 Nov 1963: Air Mechanic Johannes Petrus Karl Ahrens from the School of Technical Training died in 1 Military Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was 22.
24 Nov 1973: Four aircrew members from 24 Squadron were Reported Missing when two Hawker Siddeley S-50 Buccaneer aircraft, Serial Numbers 419 and 420, failed to return while conducting a maritime strike exercise against HMS Fearless during a Joint SA Navy and Royal Navy exercise CAPEX 73. It appears that at 13h20, the aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision in thick fog over Walker Bay near Hermanus while en-route to the ship. The crews were:
Crew of Buccaneer 419:
01248392E Major (Pilot) Johannes Jacob Stein Steinberg. He was 32. Initially Reported Missing but his body was later recovered from the sea by the Royal Navy ship HMS Tiger and brought ashore where it was handed over to the authorities for autopsy. He had no injuries and it appeared he had drowned after successfully ejecting. He now rests in the Thaba Tshwane (New) Cemetery, Grave 776.
65503161V Captain (Strike Navigator) Hercules Du Preez was Reported Missing and was never found. He has no known grave and remains unaccounted for. He was 25.
Crew of Buccaneer 420:
65944100E Captain (Pilot) Brian Maughan Antonis was Reported Missing and was never found. He has no known grave and remains unaccounted for. He was 26.
01505056E Major (Strike Navigator) Clement Roy Vice was Reported Missing and was never found. He has no known grave and remains unaccounted for. He was 29.
24 Nov 1975: 71463350BA Trooper Gideon Marthinus Frederick Obbes from 2 SAI was Killed in Action during a contact with MPLA and Cuban forces at a bridge located 40 km North-East of Novo Redondo in Central Angola during Operation Savannah. Two armoured cars were ordered forward but were met by a hail of bullets and shells. One Eland broke down and when the machine gun was hit by enemy fire and rendered unserviceable, Obbes abandoned the vehicle. As he jumped out of the turret, he was mortally wounded by enemy machine-gun fire. He was 20.
24 Nov 1978: 76432723BG Rifleman Nicolaas Mostert Hofmeyer van der Spuy van Rooyen from 31 Battalion (Later 201 Battalion SWATF) was killed instantly in an accidental hand grenade explosion at the Omega shooting range during a training exercise. He was 18.
24 Nov 1981: 78426566BG Private Johannes Petrus Coetzee from 1 Maintenance Unit was killed when the military vehicle in which he was traveling overturned. He was 19.
24 Nov 1982: 81954612SWH Lance Corporal Saxon Kaputo from 102 Battalion SWATF was accidentally killed when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned near Opuwa. He was 22.
24 Nov 1983: 81181885BG Lance Corporal Andre Dan Mostert from 1 SWA SPES was accidentally killed when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned at Opuwa. He was 19.
24 Nov 1986: 83480426BG Rifleman William Haalsward Opperman from 8 SAI sustained serious head and leg injuries on 21 November 1986 after being knocked down by a civilian vehicle that failed to stop at a road block he was manning in Dobsonville. He was admitted to the Johannesburg General Hospital where he sadly succumbed to his injuries on 24 November 1986. He was 19.
24 Nov 1986: Special Constable Johannes Sem 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 33.
24 Nov 1998: 94094992 Private S L Malope from the Lentz Military Base died of disease in 1 Military Hospital. He was 28.
24 Nov 1998: 94991247 Rifleman J J Ninela from 121 Battalion was shot dead by Police at Eshowe after trying to make his escape after being apprehended in a stolen motor vehicle. He was 25.
24 Nov 1998: 97237887 Rifleman S C Semilane from 21 Battalion was shot dead in Sharpville by persons unknown. He was 20.
Their names and sacrifices have not been forgotten.