27 November, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
27 Nov 1965: Candidate Officer Thomas Charles Loader from the South African Army College was killed in a Private motor vehicle accident near Warden while on a weekend pass. He was 18.
27 Nov 1973: 70369780BA Private Rory Desmond Mayor from 15 Maintenance Unit died from Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 19.
27 Nov 1976: 73342180BB Sapper Petrus Johannes Du Toit from 2 Field Engineer Regiment was killed in a Military Vehicle Accident at Rundu. He was 19.
27 Nov 1976: 73263097BA Rifleman Donald Robert Pretorius from 1 SAI was on a weekend pass when he was accidentally killed while hitchhiking to Port Elizabeth. He was sleeping on the side of the road outside Colesberg when he was hit by a truck. He was 19.
27 Nov 1977: 05041942PR Warrant Officer Class I John Haren Barkhuysen from Army Headquarters died from of pneumonia in 1 Military Hospital. He was 64.
27 Nov 1978: 76276757BG Rifleman Bartholomias Stefanus Kotze from 4 SAI was killed in a private motor vehicle accident between Roossenekal and Laersdrif while on a weekend Pass. He was 20.
27 Nov 1981: 78913845SP Lance Corporal Johan Martins from 32 Battalion was Killed in Action during a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola. He was 19.
27 Nov 1985: Two civilians, a farmer and his assistant from Messina were killed when their tractor detonated a Czechoslovakian Pt-Mi-Ba- III Anti-Tank Mine while they were driving to one of the plantations. The mine had been laid by MK Operatives Mthetheleli Zephania Mncube, Mzondeleli Euclid Nondula and Jabulani Sydney Mbuli as part of Ops Cetswayo. All three were later granted amnesty for this deed. The casualties were:
Mr Jas Balie. He was 35.
Mr Glabi Philemon Ncube. He was 42.
27 Nov 1986: Corporal Ronald Ellis from the Technical Service Corps, attached to the Western Province Command Workshop was killed in a private motor vehicle accident in Cape Town. He was 25.
27 Nov 1993: 93065027CK Rifleman Willie Van Rooi from 9 SAI died after suffering multiple injuries in a private motor vehicle accident between Calitzdorp and Mossel Bay. He was 24.
27 Nov 1998: 49875623PE Lieutenant Lebohang Keith Baartman from Western Province Command Headquarters was found dead in Khayelitsha with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He had been suffering from severe depression since an accidental shooting incident on 30 March 1990 that killed his wife Audrey Nakali Mbao. He was 35.
27 Nov 1998: 94835540 Private Patric Mtutuzeli Kanku from the Eastern Province Command Workshop died of disease in the Sickbay at Eastern Province Command. He was 24.
27 Nov 2000: 86471950PS Captain Petrus Jacobus Koster from 2 Squadron was killed when his Atlas Cheetah C, Serial Number 358 crashed at Air Force Base Louis Trichardt (Now AFB Makhado) after returning from a routine test flight. The aircraft re-entered the Aerodrome Traffic Circuit and as it started turning onto final approach to land, the aircraft was seen to suddenly flip over onto its back and dive into the ground. The pilot failed to eject. The Findings of the Board of Enquiry attributed the cause of the crash to G LOC (G-Force induced Loss of Consciousness). He was 30.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.