28 April, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
28 April 1937: 47566 Trooper Marthinus Johannes Lotter from 1 Special Service Battalion died at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria after contracting cerebral malaria. He was 17.
28 April 1975: 72406564N Signaler Josef Jacobus Mare’ from 2 Signal Regiment was killed in a military vehicle accident. He was 18.
28 April 1981: 65931545PE Major Gunther Walter Ludwick Heubel from the South African Intelligence Corps died in the HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria as a result of stomach cancer. He was 43.
28 April 1982: 80566458BG Corporal Markus Anthony Harris-Dewey from 701 Battalion SWATF was Killed in Action when his Patrol was ambushed by a group of SWAPO/PLAN insurgents approximately 20 km North East of Nkongo Base. He was 20.
28 April 1984: 80325731BG Rifleman Phillip Fourie van Vuuren from 4 SAI was accidentally killed outside Amsterdam when Ratel 22C drove into the rear of Ratel 22B in conditions of extremely poor visibility during a sandstorm. The vehicles were busy patrolling the road to Piet Retief when they were forced to pull off the road after visibility was reduced to zero and that is when the collision occurred. He was 19.
28 April 1991: 81552911HD Corporal Willington Ndani Mathye from 113 Battalion, was killed in a private motor vehicle accident while on official vacation leave. He was 40.
28 April 1998: 81544031PE Sergeant Edward William Walker from Air Force Waterkloof committed suicide at Waterkloof when he took an overdose of pills. He was 34.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.