03 May, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
03 May 1959: Lieutenant Johannes Jacobus Kruger from the Gordonia Commando collapsed while on duty after suffering a fatal heart attack. He was 51.
03 May 1961: Two Station Pilots from Air Force Station Ysterplaat were killed when their Harvard Aircraft 7146 and 7314 were involved in a mid-air collision during a formation barrel roll. Both aircraft crashed near Ysterplaat. The casualties were:
Major Clifford Wilson Beech (Pilot of Harvard 7314). He was 43.
PX22056 Captain John George Christiaan Smal (Pilot of Harvard 7146). He was 29.
03 May 1969: 67866723E Lieutenant Andre Weilbach from 4 Squadron was killed when his AT-6 Harvard, Serial No. 7155 failed to recover from a spin and crashed near Hartebeespoort dam during a routine general flying training sortie. Although he successfully baled out of the stricken aircraft, he was too low for his parachute to fully deploy before he impacted with the ground. He was 25.
03 May 1976: Two members of the Kempton Park Commando were killed in a military motor vehicle accident in Pretoria. They were:
71368484KT Lance Corporal Johannes Petrus Hendrik Barnard. He was 20.
67451302KT Rifleman Lawrence William Custard. He was 24.
03 May 1978: 75288555BG Lance Corporal Yvan Marc L'Hoest from 7 SAI was critically wounded when he challenged an unknown person while on guard duty at night. The unknown person was in fact a SWAPO/PLAN insurgent who immediately threw a hand grenade at his position. He was casevaced back to 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria where he underwent emergency surgery. Unfortunately complications set in and he sadly Died of Wounds. He was 20.
03 May 1979: 75293035BG Rifleman Pieter Jacobus Louw Du Plessis from South West Africa Command Maintenance Unit SWATF was Killed in Action during a contact with SWAPO/PLAN insurgents while en route to Otavi. He was 20.
03 May 79: 66327941PE Captain Gabriel Johannes Jacobus Basson from 4 SAI accidentally drowned when his boat struck an unknown underwater obstruction on the Kavango River and he was thrown overboard by the impact. He was 28.
03 May 1987: 78508256BT Corporal Cornelius Johannes Du Toit from Regiment Bloemspruit died from a gunshot wound sustained as a result of an accidental discharge of a fellow soldier’s rifle while at Fouriesburg. He was 24.
03 May 1993: Rifleman Jacobus Hermanus Blignaut from Randburg Commando was killed in a private motor vehicle accident in Randburg. He was 30.
03 May 1993: 80561731BT Rifleman Johannes Hendrik Blignaut from Regiment Vanderbijlpark was Killed in Acton when he was shot dead while trying to apprehend a suspect, at Mohlakeng. His regiment had been called up to assist the South African Police. He was 30.
03 May 1998: 94094885 Private M P Seko from the South African Infantry Corps died from disease in hospital in Potgietersrust. He was 24.
03 May 2021: Colonel Monica Moolman Muller from the South African Army Reserve Force and still a serving member on the Reserve Force Council, passed away suddenly during the afternoon of 03 May 2021. She was 76.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.