Identity
Person No.
30583
Old ROH no.
542
Service No.
84470228PE
Last Name
First Name
Pieter Gabriel Jacobus
Initials
P G J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
21
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
ACC 1,585
Accident
Cause of Death
Died in Freak Accident, at Vedenburg, parachute accident at Saldanha Air Field. Reserve chute opened in aircraft door, pulling him out. Hit aircraft tail
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
4 Reconnaissance Regiment 10
Later renamed
4 Special Forces Regiment
(1995)
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
SADF 3,823
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Unit History
Role at time of death
Special Forces (reconnaissance)
Status
Regular Force
Each numbered Reconnaissance unit was renamed over time: "X Reconnaissance Commando" -> "X Reconnaissance Regiment" (1981) -> briefly a Parachute Battalion designation (1992/93, under "45 Parachute Brigade", a Special-Forces-only designation distinct from the real 44 Parachute Brigade) -> "X Special Forces Regiment" (1995). The parent formation itself changed name several times before 1995 (Special Forces Headquarters, then Directorate Reconnaissance(Forces)) with disputed exact dates between sources -- 1995 is the one date sources agree on. Corps classified as SAIC (South African Infantry Corps) per this site's own records; no independent source found confirms that for Special Forces units specifically -- treat as owner-asserted pending a better citation.
Notes
Son of Dr. and Mrs. P. J. Haasbroek
Research notes
SASFA In Memoriam (operators killed in training): confirmed operator; died in training (SASFA: Operators killed in Training). SASFA: Haasbroek Pieter 1990. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf 26 Aug 2026: Unit was leftover "3 South African Infantry Battalion". SAWGP Regiment 4 Reconnaissance Regiment with no separate unit.
Citations
Unknown
External References
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), page 23 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
-
Unit veterans association
open source ↗
SASFA In Memoriam: Haasbroek Pieter 1990 — confirmed operator; died in training (SASFA: Operators killed in Training)
Stories 1
Pieter was a soldier in 4 Recce. He died in a parachute accident during a hi-lo training exercise. Whilst approaching the side door of a dakota, his emergency chute apparently opened by itself and shot out the door. The chute pulled him into the side of the door and the tail, apparently killing him instantly. In the days before the accident he had three roman candles (malfunctions) in a row, and he told me (his brother) that he thinks its a sign. The morning of the jump he had planned to meet with the OC of the base to resign, but chose to go on the exercise instead. After his death no member of his family was allowed to see his corpse, and informal reports from a medic in the unit claims he was alive when found and both his chutes deployed. No official explanation was given for the accident. Pieter was 21 at the time of his death and is buried in Langebaan cemetrie.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.