Identity
Person No.
30561
Old ROH no.
538
Service No.
84358266BG
Last Name
First Name
Pietir Henrich
Initials
P H
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
24
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, Ratel 20 APC was hit by ZSU23mm fire during the battle with the 59th Brigade in Operation Hooper
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
"B" Coy.
Defence Force
SADF 3,828
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Cuito Cuanavale, Cuando Cubango province, Angola
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
Operation Hooper
Operation
Operation
Dates
1987-12-01 to 1988-02-29
About
Follow-on operation after Moduler: SADF/UNITA forces pursued the retreating FAPLA brigades toward Cuito Cuanavale, engaging in heavy fighting east of the town (including the ZSU-23 and mine losses recorded against several ROH names here) as FAPLA dug in behind the Cuito River with strong Cuban-reinforced air defence and armour support.
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
Son of Mr. and Mrs. P. F. Groenwald, of George
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 66-76 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 3
P. Groenewald was killed along with his brother and two others when their Ratel 20 APC was hit by ZSU-23mm fire during the battle with the 59th Brigade on the 12th February 1988, Operation Hooper. Great guys who I served with in 1SAI, Bloemfontein 1987.
Pietie was one of the nicest guys one could ever hope to meet, especially in Angola where he always made you feel better about everything. He came and gave me my post on the morning of 13th of Feb. The next day, 23A, my Ratel was called to assist the stricken Ratel. Henk de Koker and myself carried the wounded to our Ratel, then Henk ran back again into enemy fire to retrieve the burning from 22C.
Pieter Groenewald was killed with his nephew AS Groenewald, Lance Corporal Kleinhans and Rfn van Nieuwenhuizen at about 17h00 on 14 February 1988. Their Ratel got stuck on a treestump that was left in the tanktrack in front of us. When their ratel got stuck, Corporal Kleinhans got on our Ratel 22A and rode with me until we got to the shona before the attack. 22C then caught up and the Corporal left for his Ratel. About half an hour later we heard that 22C was shot out. It was shot on the left-hand by a ZSU23-4, but on the right-hand where the Groenewalds sat, a big hole was ripped ou of the Ratel. There were two more Groenewalds in the Ratel, the driver and another rifleman. The other rifleman was also seriously wounded in his neck from the shots. The two that were killed were the MAG gunner team. They were very dear friends, we started army together in Alpha Company 1SAI and in 2nd phase went to Bravo Company and then to Bravo at 61 Mech. That day made that Valentine's day will never be the same. One always thinks back to the friends who died that day, the sunset as we drove back, with smoke dwindling upwards and bombs still exploding.
Dedications 5
He will live in my memory forever, happy, friendly, outgoing, forever young. Rfn A.S.Poulton
I will honour the 4 from 22C forever. M.Galloway
The Groenewalds were part of a team that took over our Ratel in 1SAI 1987 and carried the 22C team forward from 1SAI into 61Mec. God bess you and may you always be in our heart forever. So Long ago, but so close to our hearts.
I was involved in the battle against Fapla's 59 Brigade on the 14th February 1988 although I didn't learn of the Groenewald's deaths until after the battle was over. It is nice to see them being honoured in this way. God bless them and all those who lost their lives in Angola.
Hi, I was the driver of 22C, that was shot out on Feb 1987 in Operation Hooper. Pietie was an excellent person, and I have very good memories with them as a team. He will stay in my memories, together with his nephew Andre Groenewald. The songs they sang, the jokes they made, the suffering we had together as soldiers, the excellent soldiers they were with their ammo and the laughter, and all they gave us keeping our spirits up, will be everlasting. God took you away, but I will see you in Heaven. In Jesus we are saved if we accept Him as our ONLY Saviour. Anyone can contact me as I want to meet their parents and families, to speak to them.