06 May, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
06 May 1959: 0093 Flight Lieutenant Colin Graves, a South African National flying with 1 Squadron Royal Rhodesian Air Force, was killed when his Royal Rhodesian Air Force Vampire FB9, Serial RRAF 108 was involved in a mid-air collision with another Vampire FB9 over Thornhill while practicing Formation Aerobatics. His Vampire had the tail plane removed in the collision and his aircraft was seen to pitch down from its shallow climb and enter into a shallow dive before rolling inverted and impacting the ground where it exploding in a huge ball of fire just behind a line of gum trees on Thornhill’s Western Boundary. He was 26.
06 May 1976: Two crew members from 27 Squadron were Reported Missing when their Piaggio P166S Albatross, Serial No. 894 disappeared over the sea South West of Dassen Island while returning from a long range West Coast Patrol. An extensive aerial search was conducted by a 35 Squadron Shackleton and a 27 Squadron Albatross together with a surface search by the SAS President Steyn, SAS Pretoria and SAS Johannesburg and two crash boats from Langebaan. Only an aircraft tip tank and an empty dinghy were located before the search was called off. During 1987, an Irwin & Johnson fishing trawler, trawled up a large section of this aircraft in their nets and the wreckage was brought ashore at Saldanha. The Crew have no known grave and remain unaccounted for. They were:
66000134PE Major Raymond Hall Carter. He was 52.
67292300PM Captain Gideon Machiel Albertus Rossouw. He was 25.
06 May 1978: 76901636SP Rifleman B. Kaquarta from 32 Battalion was accidentally killed in a friendly fire incident when 140mm artillery shells fell short during a bombardment of enemy positions near Namuidi during Operation Reindeer. He was 31.
06 May 1981: 78570793BG Sapper Martin Johannes Smit from 1 Construction Regiment died from injuries received when he accidentally fell from a 2nd Floor window at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein. He was 19.
06 May 1982: 82702705PP Lieutenant Raymond Roderick Hughes from 6 Squadron was killed near Port Elizabeth while approaching to land in Atlas MB326M Impala Mk I Serial No. 550 on returning from a routine training flight. Bad weather and poor visibility caused Lt Hughes to mistake the airport hangar and perimeter lights for the runway lights and both pilots only ejected once the aircraft started hitting trees to the South of the Port Elizabeth Airport. The instructor, Captain Rob Turner survived due to his parachute snagging on trees and slowing down his fall but Lt Hughes unfortunately fell along an open pathway and had nothing to break his speed as they had ejected with a downward vector that was outside the envelope of the zero-zero ejection seats. He was killed instantly when his seat impacted with the ground. He was 25.
06 May 1983: 74547506BT Rifleman Louis Smit from Regiment Westelike Provinsie collapsed and died after suffering a fatal heart attack while on foot Patrol in Northern Owamboland. He was 25.
06 May 1991: 78201359BT Gunner Phillipus Andries van der Merwe from 25 Field Regiment was killed when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned at Batavia. He was 18.
06 May 1992: 90073818BG Rifleman Ralph Jeffrey Steyn from 3 SAI was killed in Imbali Township near Pietermaritzburg when his Buffel Troop Carrier suffered brake failure and overturned. He was 22.
06 May 1993: 78913258PD Rifleman Alberto Manuel Cassamano from the Army Battle School died as a result of liver and kidney failure while on leave. He was 49.
06 May 1994: 90226853PY 2/Lieutenant Hermanus Johannes Lombard from 44 Parachute Regiment was killed in a private motor vehicle accident at Melville Avenue, Brandwag in Bloemfontein when his vehicle left the road on a sharp corner and collided with a tree. He was 19.
06 May 1998: 92664911 Rifleman T P Ranoto from the 111 Battalion died of disease in the Pietersburg Hospital. He was 26.
06 May 1998: 66433574KV Rifleman Leon Shaw from the Escourt Commando was killed when he was fatally shot by family member at Estcourt. He was 46.
06 May 2004: 86726288 Corporal Moahlodi Joseph Moeti from the Army Catering Corps was accidentally killed when a tree fell on him at Bujumbura while he was carrying out Peacekeeping duties in Burundi. He was 28.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.