03 August, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
03 Aug 1974: 6458861 Lieutenant Henri Cornelius Lotz from 41 Squadron was killed when his AM-3C Bosbok, Serial No. 937 crashed near Johannesburg. He was 25.
03 Aug 1978: 66364316PM Captain Anthony Howard Brinkworth, a Strike Navigator from 24 Squadron, was Reported Missing when his Buccaneer SMk.50, Serial No. 423, flown by Captain Dries Marais suffered a double flame-out and crashed into the sea 28 miles off Green Point near Scottburgh and exploded on impact with the water. The aircraft was flying in a formation of three Buccaneers for a night attack on a Naval Strike Craft that was towing a LARNE-splash target off the coast of Scottburgh on the Natal Coast. Under the light of a NATAC flare that burned for almost 4-minutes, each Buccaneer could re-attack the splash target towed at some 15-knots and shoot rockets or drop bombs on the moving target – something only the Buccaneers ever did. At the end of the attack, Captain Dries Marias called in and said that he had a flame out in one engine and was diverting to Durban International Airport. Not long after, he called in a second engine failure and the formation saw the flames of the two rocket ejection seats as they ejected from Buccaneer 423. Captain Dries Marias was rescued from the sea by the Navy and he confirmed that they had not transferred the bomb door fuel to the main fuel tank. Captain Brinkworth’s parachute and harness were later found floating in the water. They had been undone, indicating a safe and conscious landing in the sea but he was never found and the search was called off after two days. Captain Brinkworth has no known grave and remains unaccounted for. For administrative purposes, he was officially declared dead on 14 August 1979. He was 27.
03 Aug 1980: Two members from 32 Battalion were Killed in Action in Southern Angola when they triggered a booby trap inside a captured enemy bunker during Operation Vastrap. They were:
69430775PE Corporal Michael Christian Coetzee. He was 26.
76466374PF Corporal Daniël Heinrich Grobler. He was 20.
03 Aug 1983: 74468430KT Rifleman Adriaan Jacobus Booysen Thirion from the Boksburg Commando was killed while his Patrol was breaking and packing up their TB just North of the Chandelier Road near Eenhana when he was hit in the face with a 60mm Mortar Bomb accidentally fired from an M4 Commando Mortar (PATMOR). He was 25.
03 Aug 1985: 82559279BG Rifleman Mark John Littrell from 1 Parachute Battalion Died of Wounds accidentally sustained while based in the Northern Operational Area. While "C" Company 1 Parachute Battalion were out on Patrol, he remained behind at the base camp. It appears that a lit candle fell over inside a tent causing the tent to catch fire. While trying to extinguish the blaze, a mortar bomb inside the tent exploded due to the heat of the fire, and he was critically wounded in the stomach by shrapnel. He succumbed to his wounds a short while later. He was 19.
03 Aug 1986: Three members from the Durban Regiment were killed when their Buffel Troop Carrier overturned in Durban. The casualties were:
76506955BT Lance Corporal Robert Dennis Sterling. He was 26.
77233849BT Rifleman Trevor Reginald William Holland. He was 24.
79568903BT Rifleman Eric Cornelius Koekemoer. He was 21.
03 Aug 1990: 74241829PE Flight Sergeant Phillipus Daniel Viljoen from Air Force Base Waterkloof was killed in a private motor vehicle accident between Pietersburg and Johannesburg on the N1 highway, while on official duty. He was 31.
03 Aug 1991: Two members from 7 SAI were accidentally burnt to death when gas bottles exploded after the kitchen at Vhembi Base caught fire. The members were sleeping in the Base kitchen to deter thieves. The casualties were:
89441992BG Rifleman Bruce Albert van Heerden. He was 17.
88611645BG Rifleman Roan Myburgh. He was 19.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten