Identity
Person No.
31145
Service No.
Unknown
Last Name
First Name
Unknown
Initials
J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Unknown
Age at Death
Unknown
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
DOAS 7,466
Died on active service
Cause of Death
Died on active service (cause not confirmed after untangling from PN 31144)
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,830
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
Mechanised Infantry (combined-arms battalion group)
Status
Regular Force
Part of
Formed 1978 as Battle Group Juliet (SWAPO counter-insurgency, Ovamboland); formally named 61 Mechanised Battalion (Group) January 1979; disbanded 2005 at Lohatla. "Battalion Group" reflects its integral combined-arms structure: two Ratel-20-mounted infantry companies, an armoured car/tank squadron (Eland/Ratel-90, later Olifant), an integral G5 howitzer artillery battery, an 81mm mortar platoon, an anti-tank platoon, and an anti-aircraft troop -- not merely units attached for one operation. Fought at the Battle of the Lomba River, 1987. No evidence found that it was ever subordinated to or redesignated as a "61 Mechanised Brigade" -- see the note on that separate OrgEntity record.
Notes
Untangled 2026-08-13 from shared pollution with PN 31144 (87285086 / Eugene / motorcycle / age 35). Mike Sandham: Rifleman J Kotze, 61 Mech, 11 Aug 1979.
Research notes
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
-
Mike Sandham
Mike Sandham 2026-08-11. Duplication of info with PN 31144 resolved.
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
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Dedications
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