Identity
Person No.
29225
Old ROH no.
10
Service No.
83502815BG
Last Name
First Name
Jose Raymond
Initials
J R
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
20
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,780
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, Operation Modular, Due to tactical circumstances, his troop got stuck in the mud of a shona near the Lomba River during a tank fight, and his Ratel 90 was destroyed at point blank by a T55 tank. 2Lt Alves, his crew as well as 32 Bn members such as Capt Mac McCallum was killed instantly. The tank round penetrated the Ratel through the side door, detonated in the main ammunition storage container and resulted in an explosion causing the vehicle to catch fire
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Regiment
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,817
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Within the Voortrekker Monument heritage precinct, Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
No. 125
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Cuito Cuanavale, Cuando Cubango province, Angola
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
Operation Moduler
Operation
Operation
Dates
1987-08-01 to 1987-11-15
About
Operation launched to support UNITA against a major FAPLA offensive aimed at capturing UNITA's stronghold of Mavinga. Culminated in the Battle of the Lomba River (September-October 1987), where SADF mechanised and artillery forces, fighting alongside UNITA, halted and largely destroyed FAPLA's 47 Brigade attempting to cross the river — the action in which several ROH records on this site (Alves, De Klerk, Kuyler, McCallum, Mananza, Tchipango and others) were killed when their Ratel 90 was destroyed at point-blank range by a T-55 tank.
Awards
South Africa
Pro Patria Medal warrant, Government Gazette No. 5171 (25 Jun 1976), Rule 5, as amended by GG No. 5575 (3 Jun 1977); discontinued by GG No. 25213 (25 Jul 2003, Schedule corrected by GG No. 26778, 17 Sep 2004) for service on/after 27 Apr 2003. Gazette extracts: https://rohsa.co.za/award.php?id=24
Notes
Son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Alves
Research notes
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 13 Sep 2026 / Bushwar Books Lest We Forget 13 September (https://www.warbooks.co.za/posts/lest-we-forget-13-september/ 83502815BG 2/Lieutenant José Raimundo Alves, 32 Battalion, same Ratel 90/Ops Modular incident, age 20. Exact match.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Bushwar Books - Lest We Forget
open source ↗
Lest We Forget 13 September
-
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
Graham Last Post 13 Sep 2026
-
SADF.info Border Roll of Honour
open source ↗
SADF.info Border RoH
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 66-76 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 9
2Lt Alves was a troop commander in the Anti - tank sqn of 32 Bn commanded by then Maj Hannes Northmann. Due to tactical circumstances, his troop got stuck in the mud of a shona near the Lomba River during a tank fight, and his Ratel 90 was destroyed at point blank by a T55 tank. 2Lt Alves, his crew as well as 32 Bn members such as Capt Mac McCallum was killed instantly. the tank round penetrated the Ratel through the side door, detonated in the main ammunition storage container and resulted in an explosion causing the vehicle to catch fire.
These were brave men that died for there country however what was it for? I am 36 years old and was there in 1987 and to this day I do not know why, God bless you men of honour Carlos Rosa
Hi my name is Gavin Vorster and i was in 32 from 1987 to 1989 we were once soldiers and i salute all that was part of my unit and all those that sacrified their lives for a better world,for those that lost their lives i salute you, Proleo Procusi_ We were forged in war. For my Friend fuchi,man you were tough,hope god the old man is looking after you up there.
even though the rattles and mrl's served 4 months in angola as part of 32 in ops modula we hardly mentioned. we trained and lived 32 but the fallen where never put on record, just a piss up at buffalo. we know what u did. s. taylor
S.TAYLOR IT IS P.PRATT WHERE ARE YOU? P.PRATT
people are soldiers. we will live an depart with honour joe
On 13 September 1987, during Operation Modular in southern Angola, a 32 Battalion anti-tank Ratel commanded by 2Lt J.R. Alves was engaged in combat with FAPLA T-55 tanks, and became bogged down in a muddy shona. Before the men could extricate themselves, their Ratel was hit and destroyed by a T-55 tank, killing all the crew and men aboard the Ratel, including 2Lt Alves and Capt A.D. McCallum, the commanding officer of Foxtrot Company. Information extracted from 32 Battalion: The Inside Story of South Africa's Elite Fighting Unit , by Piet Nortje.
13 Sep 1987: Six members of 32 Battalion were Killed in Action in a single incident during Ops Modular in Southern Angola. A 32 Battalion Anti-Tank Ratel 90, Callsign 13, Commanded by 2/Lieutenant Jose Raymond Alves became bogged down in a muddy shona while engaging FAPLA manned Soviet T-55 tanks. Before the men could extricate themselves, their Ratel 90 was hit and destroyed at point blank by a Soviet T-55 tank shell. The tank round penetrated the Ratel through the side door and detonated inside the main ammunition storage container. This resulted in an explosion within the Ratel causing the vehicle to catch fire. The Ratel crew and passengers were all killed instantly in the explosion. The burnt out Ratel was later destroyed by SADF Engineers to prevent its capture. Captain Alfred Desmond McCallum was the Commanding Officer of Foxtrot Company. Those Killed in Action were: 74316175PK Captain Alfred Desmond McCallum. He was 28 83502815BG 2/Lieutenant Jose Raymond Alves. He was 20. 83302422BG Lance Corporal Matthys Michael De Klerk. He was 20. 832441178BG Trooper Marthinus Johannes Kuyler. He was 20. 81533671SP Lance Corporal Joao Rodrigues Mananza. He was 33. 76928621SP Lance Corporal Waite Tchipango. He was 31 Graham Du Toit
13 Sep 1987: Six members of 32 Battalion were Killed in Action in a single incident during Ops Modular in Southern Angola. A 32 Battalion Anti-Tank Ratel 90, Callsign 13, Commanded by 2/Lieutenant Jose Raymond Alves became bogged down in a muddy shona while engaging FAPLA manned Soviet T-55 tanks. Before the men could extricate themselves, their Ratel 90 was hit and destroyed at point blank by a Soviet T-55 tank shell. The tank round penetrated the Ratel through the side door and detonated inside the main ammunition storage container. This resulted in an explosion within the Ratel causing the vehicle to catch fire. The Ratel crew and passengers were all killed instantly in the explosion. The burnt out Ratel was later destroyed by SADF Engineers to prevent its capture. Captain Alfred Desmond McCallum was the Commanding Officer of Foxtrot Company. Those Killed in Action were: 74316175PK Captain Alfred Desmond McCallum. He was 28 83502815BG 2/Lieutenant Jose Raymond Alves. He was 20. 83302422BG Lance Corporal Matthys Michael De Klerk. He was 20. 832441178BG Trooper Marthinus Johannes Kuyler. He was 20. 81533671SP Lance Corporal Joao Rodrigues Mananza. He was 33. 76928621SP Lance Corporal Waite Tchipango. He was 31
Dedications 3
you will always be fondly remembered from our days at 2ssb and in angolo from your friends from 32 battalion anti tank sqd 1987 32 Battalion anti-tank sqd 1987
i always think of you ,and the rest of the cape town guys at school of armour 1986, we had good but hard times looking back. RIP S.GORTON
Lots of time has passed , but not forgotten Dean Vd Merwe