GEORGE NEWS - Sector 5 South African Defence Force Association (Sadfa) hosted an evening at the Outeniqua Moth Shellhole in George last Friday, 28 October, where they were joined by members of the South African Special Forces Association, Parabats from Groot Brak Canopy, and 61 Mech, to remember the fallen soldiers of Operation Kropduif.
Forty-five years ago to the day, in 1977, seven members of the South African Special Forces, known as the recces, lost their lives in action in Angola, with a further nine wounded during the operation.
It's a day that will go down as one of the darkest in South African Special Forces history.
In the late evening, two Transall C-160 aircraft sneaked across the Angolan border at treetop height, loaded with the attack force of Special Forces operators. The target was the large enemy base at Eheke, but the attack could not take place at first light as planned, as the group had a much further walk-in than anticipated, and only occurred late the following day.
The element of surprise was lost, and the recces were met with heavy resistance in the form of sustained fire from a multitude of weapons from the enemy. Eventually, they won the firefight, which lasted 32 minutes.
After helicopters removed the dead and wounded, the recces had another long day of walking out. Eventually, having walked about 55km with no water or sleep for 48 hours, the exhausted men had completed the operation.
The men who paid the ultimate price on that fateful day were:
Antonie Badenhorst, Michiel Kruger, Wentzel Marx, Frans van Zyl and Gary Walker from 1 Reconnaissance Commando, as well as Les Greyling and Neville Clack from 2 Reconnaissance Commando.
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them." - For the Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon
The group who gathered to remember the fallen soldiers of Operation Kropduif.
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