08 February, let us pause to remember these young men from our Generation who answered the Sunset call.
08 Feb 1958: Flight Sergeant Ivan Claude Walsh from 1 Air Depot died of malignant melanoma in 1 Military Hospital. He was 44.
08 Feb 1976: 70529177BT Rifleman Andre de Lange Strydom was doing a compulsory 30-Day Camp at Oshakati. One night, he left the base without permission and attempted to return through the wire fence around midnight. When he failed to identify himself to the guard on duty after being challenged three times, the guard opened fire, killing him instantly. He was 21.
08 Feb 1978: Five members from 32 Battalion were Killed in Action during a fierce fire-fight with a numerically superior enemy force at Mamuandi in Southern Angola during Operation Seiljag. They were:
76901537SP Rifleman Lucindo Laurindo. He was 20.
76908136SP Rifleman Rodrigues Augusto. He was 19.
76901602SP Rifleman Antonio. Mussungu. He was 20.
76907518SP Rifleman José Dumba. He was 20.
76908482SP Rifleman Joao Linhangwa. He was 20.
08 Feb 1978: 76901249SP Rifleman Neville Bernardo from 32 Battalion was Killed in Action during in a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola between Onhunda and Oshipala during Operation Seiljag. He was 19.
08 Feb 1979: 74297672BG Gunner Pieter Du Toit from 10 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment was grievously burned on 07 February 1979 while escorting a patient in an ambulance to 2 Military Hospital at Wynberg. The ambulance was involved in a collision with a civilian vehicle and burst into flames. He successfully extricated the patient from the blazing ambulance but received 3rd degree burns to 80% of his body during the process. The patient survived but Pieter succumbed to his injuries on 08 February 1979. He was 20.
08 Feb 1981: 76306034BG Rifleman Morgan John Williams from 5 SAI was killed when he was struck by a bullet resulting from an accidental discharge of a fellow soldier’s rifle while stationed in Northern Owamboland. He was 20.
08 Feb 1984: Two members from 201 Battalion SWATF were killed when their Buffel Troop Carrier overturned in the Northern Operational Area. The casualties were:
Rifleman Augusto Diaz. He was 26.
Rifleman Simone Sibekwa. He was 25.
08 Feb 1984: 73521593PE Captain Sarel Jacobus Kruger from 5 Reconnaissance Regiment was accidentally killed in a parachute training accident at Hoedspruit. He was 26.
08 Feb 1984: 81269136BG Rifleman Hendrik Francois Taljaard from the Equestrian Centre was killed instantly when he was accidentally run over by a Samil 100 truck near Potchefstroom while on his way to stand guard at the North West Command Ammunition Dump. The Samil vehicle had stopped while the driver checked which turn-off he should take and Taljaard used this opportunity to climb off the rear of the vehicle to pick up some small stones. The vehicle started reversing just as Taljaard tried to re-board and he slipped on the gravel and fell under the rear wheels of the truck. He was 19.
08 Feb 1984: 80531759PE 2/Lieutenant Johannes Petrus Verhoef from 8 SAI died from a gunshot wound accidentally sustained while on foot patrol near Air Force Base Ondangwa in Northern Owamboland. He was 21.
08 Feb 1988: 83302273BG Rifleman Thomas Andries Dreyer from 5 SAI was initially Reported Missing after he disappeared while swimming in the Klip River. After an intensive search, his body was later located and recovered from the Windsor Dam. He was 24.
08 Feb 1994: Airman Willem Philippus Bester from the Air Force Gymnasium was killed in a private motor vehicle accident. He was 18.
08 Feb 1998: 94683547 Corporal D J Mosia from Gauteng Command was shot dead in Sharpeville by persons unknown while Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from his Unit. He was 25.
08 Feb 2019: 792944278BV Major Philip Davy Kotzé from BACS (Bushveld Airspace Control Sector) at Air Force Headquarters, died in 1 Military Hospital as a result of septicemia. He was actively serving in the Reserve Force at the time of his death. He was 55.
Their names and sacrifices will not be forgotten.