26 December, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
26 Dec 1977: 75565168BG Private Johan Stephanus Johannes Adlem from 2 Mobilisation Centre was killed in a private motor vehicle accident on the Middelburg to Suurberg road. He was 18.
26 Dec 1977: Two members from Alpha Company 11 Commando Regiment Died of Wounds when their Unimog detonated a boosted Yugoslavian TMA-3 Cheese Mine on Oom Willie se Pad. The vehicle was flipped over by the explosion and the two members were thrown out of the vehicle and then crushed when the vehicle landed on top of them. They both succumbed to their injuries shortly after the incident. The casualties were:
74764077BA Corporal Mark Anthony Wilcox. He was 20.
74232281BG Rifleman Daniel Louis Buys. He was 19.
26 Dec 1980: 77341550BG Rifleman Graham Clark from 1 SAI died of heart failure and asphyxia in the Welkom Hospital after having been stung by a scorpion. He was 19.
26 Dec 1986: 05210554PE Staff Sergeant Jacobus Frederick Jansen van Vuuren from 61 Base Workshop, Technical Service Corps, died in 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria after suffering respiratory failure. He was 47.
26 Dec 1986: Two members of the South African Police Counter Insurgency Unit were shot dead by MK operative Mthetheleli Zephania Mncube when he made his escape after being arrested on charges relating to the laying of Czechoslovakian Pt-Mi-Ba-III Anti-Tank Mines in the Messina area as part of Ops Cetswayo during November/December 1986. He was later granted amnesty for the killings. The casualties in this incident were:
W415190R Warrant Officer Theunis Johannes Gerber. He was 47.
W88886R Sergeant Joachim Martinus Nel. He was 43.
26 Dec 1986: Two members from 32 Battalion were found murdered by persons unknown at Buffalo Base. They were:
81536533SP Rifleman Joao Zacarias. He was 29.
82746199SP Rifleman Joao Manual. He was 25.
26 Dec 1987: 85314953BG Private André Johan van Niekerk from 1 Maintenance Unit died in 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria after being admitted suffering from pneumonia. He was 18.
26 Dec 1993: 87959755PE Rifleman Kevin Charles Mulder from 6 SAI accidentally drowned while swimming with friends at Group 39 Headquarters. He was 26.
26 Dec 1994: 90722943PE Rifleman Tsamaya Kapasi from 3 SAI was accidentally killed after being struck by a civilian motor vehicle while crossing a road at Bray. He was 44.
26 Dec 1994: 86716479PE Rifleman Thabani Willie Zulu from 121 Battalion was killed in Kathlehong Township when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned while on patrol. He was 35.
26 Dec 1995: 90703497PE Lance Corporal Makhurumole Alan Sebesho from 21 Battalion was killed in a military motor vehicle accident in Alexandra. He was 25.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.