Identity
Person No.
29403
Old ROH no.
76
Service No.
05477377PE
Last Name
First Name
Alwyn Johannes
Initials
A J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
32
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,780
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, in Battle of Ebo. He had been sent to Angola to relieve S.Sgt Steenkamp and take command of a mortar platoon. While engaging the enemy, they were hit by a 122mm redeye and he was killed instantly
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Warrant Officer Class II
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,817
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Unknown
Unit History
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
Husband of Mrs. A. Benson, of Middelburg, Mpumalanga
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
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 26-28 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 2
During Operation Savannah, on 23 November 1975 WO2 Benson was one of 100 South Africans who were part of a force of 400 men involved in an attack from Edo to Conde in Angola. After the Eland armoured cars leading the attack had come under enemy fire and become bogged down, the 81 mm and 107 mm mortar teams attempted to relieve these, but the 81 mm crews in turn came under fire and suffered a number of casualties. 2Lt van Niekerk, in charge of the 107 mm mortars, directed his men to fire ahead of the 81 mm crews to assist them, but the enemy then proceeded to shell the two 107 mm mortar positions. All but one member of their non-South African crews promptly fled but WO Benson and one other South African WO, as well as 2Lt van Niekerk, took over and continued to fire on the enemy. It was whilst doing so that a shell exploded close to their position, severely wounding 2Lt van Niekerk and mortally wounding WO2 Benson. Information extracted from Cross of Honour by Ian Uys. Uys Publishers 1992.
WO Benson was in charge of a platoon of mortars operated by UNITA soldiers. On 24 November 1975 our group was ambushed by Cubans north of a town called Ebo. During the engagement, his position was struck by a mortar or a 122mm rocket which killed the entire platoon. His body was recovered and returned to South Africa.
Dedications 1
always will you be remembered, until we meet again. clifford benson