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Erasmus , Andre (A)

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Identity
Person No.
30252
Old ROH no.
1698
Service No.
67280552PE
Last Name
First Name
Andre
Initials
A
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
28
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, during special operation in support of UNITA at Savate, Angola, in a contact with the enemy. (Operation Tiro a Tiro)
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Captain
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,832
South African Defence Force
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Within the Voortrekker Monument heritage precinct, Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
No. 43
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Savate, Cuando Cubango (Cubango) province, Angola
Coordinates
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Killed at Savate, 21 May 1980, Operation Tiro a Tiro
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
1980 Army. Left column. 42nd name from the top (Erasmus A.). Wall rank KAPT; ROH Captain
Awards
Pro Patria Medal
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. L. M. Erasmus

Research notes

SADF Wall of Remembrance (Voortrekker Monument): named on photograph "1980 Army (Abel–Ralikwatha). Photograph: South African War Graves Project.". 1980 Army. Left column. 42nd name from the top (Erasmus A.). Wall rank KAPT; ROH Captain.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED as a duplicate. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word repeating what the Branch column already says. Secondary Unit is for sub-units -- a company, a squadron, a commando -- and this record's branch of service is unchanged at "Army".

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 2
on 30 May 2001 · via source
32 BN May 21 1980 Savate Angola cpl Andy falkus cpl engelbrecht capt Erasmus Lt patrick Capt C Muller (I think) This was a spec op in support of UNITA and the actual attack commenced at 09:21 Dean Shelley [dean@phoenix.idiscover.co.uk] Dean Shelley
by Peter on 08 December 2010 · via source
On 21 May, 32 Battalion were tasked to support a UNITA attack on the FAPLA base at Savate, Angola. Unknown to them, the FAPLA strength had been badly underestimated by UNITA and there was over 1000 heavily armed soldiers at Savate, rather than the 300 estimated. However, the assault went in as planned, and after a bloody day of fighting, Savate was captured and FAPLA routed with more than 550 dead and hundreds more wounded. Sadly, the battle cost 32 Battalion dearly, fifteen officers and men being killed in the fighting that day. Rifleman Marcellino was one of the men who made the supreme sacrifice. Information extracted from 32 Battalion: The Inside Story of South Africa's Elite Fighting Unit , by Piet Nortje.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.