On 07 July, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
07 Jul 1976: 68505007BT Rifleman Leon Hendrik Delport from the Durban Regiment was shot dead at the Oshivello shooting range when he accidentally took up a position behind one of the targets during a fire and movement drill. He was 23.
07 Jul 1980: 73487209BG Private Johannes Jacobus Joubert from 1 Maintenance Unit was killed when he accidentally fell off the rear of a moving SAMIL military vehicle. He was 23.
07 Jul 1981: 78209541BG Private Wayne Ivor Purdon from the Jozini Military Base was killed in a military vehicle accident between Magudu and Candover. He was 18.
07 Jul 1983: 79218343BG Lance Corporal Alexander John Tucker from 1 Parachute Battalion was Killed in Action when his Patrol was ambushed by a combined FAPLA/Cuban force while operating in an area approximately 40km from Cahama. He was struck in the head by a bullet that killed him instantly. He was 19.
07 Jul 1983: 83706069SP Rifleman Edwin Kasera from 32 Battalion who was critically wounded on 01 July 1983 in a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola during Ops Dolfyn, sadly Died of Wounds in Hospital on 07 July 1981. He was 23.
07 Jul 1984: Lance Corporal Nicolaas Jacob Oosthuizen from 6 SAI was killed instantly when his private vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a railway truck a few kilometers outside Aliwal North. He was driving home to Senekal from Grahamstown on a weekend pass when the accident occurred. He was 22.
07 Jul 1994: 93460939BG Sapper Francois Phillipus Janse van Vuuren from the School of Engineers was critically injured in a private motor vehicle accident on 06 July 1994 on the Lindley road approximately 6km from Steynsrus. He was admitted to the Kroonstad hospital where he sadly succumbed to his injuries on 07 July 1994. He was 22.
07 Jul 1998: 97079552 Lance Corporal Isaac Lucky Mlambo from 1 SAI died of disease in 3 Military Hospital n Bloemfontein. He was 24.
07 Jul 1998: 94078896 Private N.D. Tetsa from Gauteng Command died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 33.
07 Jul 1999: 93766566PF Lieutenant Samuel Petrus Losper from 61 Mechanised Battalion Group died in the Pelonomi Hospital as a result of injuries sustained when he fell off a horse during an equestrian competition. He was 29.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten