04 June 1980: A sad day for 32 Battalion when three of their members were Killed in action, south of Mutuanjamba (approximately 80km inside Angola) during first phase of Operation Sceptic while carrying out area clearing and domination so as to establish a tactical HQ at Mulemba. When their patrol crossed a gravel road in the kill zone of a vehicle ambush, they walked into a large SWAPO force that were dug in with mortars and machine guns that were able to inflict casualties and pin the patrol down. 2/Lieutenant van der Walt was killed instantly after being shot multiple times by a Soviet PKM machine gun. Staff Sergeant Braz immediately went to his aid and was hit multiple times by the same dug in PKM machine gun and was still alive when the casevac arrived but succumbed to his wounds moments later. Rifleman Joao was critically wounded in the initial exchange of fire and died a short while later. 32 Battalion reinforcements attacked and dislodged the ambushing force but were forced to secure the immediate area and attend to casualties rather than pursue the retreating enemy force. 2/Lieutenant Van Der Walt had narrowly escaped death on a previous occasion when he was wounded in the head by enemy small arms ground fire while flying as a passenger on a C160 from Eenhana to Ondangwa when the aircraft was shot at by a SWAPO patrol. Another member of this same patrol was later Killed in Action north of Mulemba on 06 June 1980. The casualties in this action were: 77263739BG 2/Lieutenant Pieter van der Walt. He was 19 76928100SP Staff Sergeant Simao Domingos Braz. He was 23. Rifleman Menendes Joao. He was 26 Their Names and sacrifice have not been forgotten.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 07:36:17 +0000
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