Identity
Person No.
29670
Old ROH no.
185
Service No.
74232281BG
Last Name
First Name
Daniel Louis
Initials
D L
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,780
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, buffel he was traveling in detonated a "cheese mine"
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
SADF 3,821
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Role at time of death
Infantry (area defence)
Status
Commando (Area Bound Reserve)
Part of
SADF Commando System
category
Generic Regiment-field text used across hundreds of records whose actual unit is a specific local Commando (e.g. Rustenburg Commando, Boksburg Commando -- captured in Unit). Post-WWII, "Commando" is its own force-component category alongside Regular/Permanent Force and Active Citizen Force -- area-bound, part-time reserve units tied to a specific district, mobilised for local counter-insurgency/area protection duties during the Border War era. Not a single regiment; this Status applies to the whole category.
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. D. L. Buys, of Beacon Bay, East London.
Research notes
DATE DISCREPANCY 25 Aug 2026: pantser.cmvo.org.za's SADF deaths PDF gives this person's Sterf (date of death) as "26 11 77" (DD MM YY) against the same ServiceNo (74232281BG) and name -- differs from this record's DateDeath (1977-12-11). Not overwritten, flagged for reference.
Mike Sandham's research log ("List 1"), imported 16 Sep 2026, credited to The South Africa War Graves Project unless his entry says otherwise: dates of death differ -- Mike 1977-12-26 this record 1977-12-11. A gap of a few days commonly separates wounding from death, or a burial date from a death date. Flagged, not changed.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Lys van Weermaglede wat aan diens gesterf het (SADF deaths, pantser.cmvo.org.za)
open source ↗
SADF deaths PDF cross-check, 25 Aug 2026 -- date discrepancy noted
-
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 Member Dedications forum (www.warinangola.com), Excel export supplied by Johan Schoeman, 1 Sep 2026. Forum post(s): 38028.
Stories 2
Rfn Buys served in A Coy (Pl 1 Sec 3) of 11 Commando (Kimberley) and was killed on 12 Dec 1977 when the buffel he was travelling in detonated a "cheese mine". Rfn Buys as well as Cpl Mark Wilcox were killed as a result of injuries sustained in this blast. Unknown
MY NAME IS CHRIS J LOTTER. I WAS THE OPS MEDIC WHEN THIS ACCIDENT OCCURED. DOC RICK MORRISON AND MYSELF TRIED TO SAVE BUYS AND WILLCOX. BUYS DIED OF SEVERE HEAD INJURIES AND WILLCOX FROM CHEST INJURIES...THE ROLLBAR ON THE BUFFALO CAUSED THE INJURIES. 7 OTHER GUYS WERE ALSO INJURED.BOTH WILLCOX AND BUYS WERE CASAVAC'ED TO ONDANGWA BUT BOTH DIED FROM THEIR INJURIES.
Dedications 1
See [Landmine blast kills 2 - Cape Times 28 November 1977]