Kretzman , Lawrence Dennis (L D)

Mike Sandham 24 Aug 2026 omissions (Query: Date, Cause?): SAWGP/this record: 24 Aug 1987, 74239856BG Rifleman Lawrence Dennis Kretzmann from 11 Kimberley Commando, South African Commandos Died in Military Vehicle Accident. Hit animal in Operational Area. Died from injuries, at 1 Mil Hospital. He was 29. {{11 Commando Regiment attached to 53 Battalion ... critically injured on 11 November 1977 when his Unimog Troop Carrier overturned after striking an animal in the road north of Oshakati while carrying out escort duties. He was pinned under all the sandbags that were on the rear of the vehicle. He was evacuated to 1 Military Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on 28 November 1977. He was 19}}; ((Sterf = 24 08 87, Detail = Accident in Vth)); ╠ Date of Death = 1977/11/28 ╣ - 11 Commando Kimberley SOURCE: The War In Angola Information Portal: South African Unit Profiles - [http://www.warinangola.com/default.aspx?tabid=1239&Parameter=32] ; ╠ 28 Nov 1977: 74239856BG Rifleman Lawrence Dennis Kretzmann from 11 Commando Regiment attached to 53 Battalion, was critically injured on 11 November 1977 ╣ - OUD SOLDATE KLUB FB page by Jaco Steenberg · November 28, 2025. Note by e-mail author: Suspect year 1977 correct - No sandbags on rear on Unimogs (early landmine protection replaced by Buffel) in 1987!! August/November?, Force no pefix 74 (at age 16) with BG suffix = NSM ±1977 aged 18/19. Unfortunately no gravestone to confirm. DateDeath 1987-08-24 and Age 29 left (SAWGP); LastName Kretzman left (parents in AddInfo spelled Kretzmann). PersonUnitAttachment recorded for the 11 Commando / 53 Battalion attachment from the 1977 account. Bushwar Books lest-we-forget-24-august/ does not name him.
14 Sep 2026: Pro Patria Medal added -- database-wide sweep for SADF Border War operational-area deaths within the medal's gazetted window (25 Jun 1976 - 27 Apr 2003), per the warrant's died-before-qualifying-period provision. See PersonAward.Citation for the gazette references.
14 Sep 2026: Pro Patria Medal added earlier today REVERTED -- John obtained the actual Government Gazette (GG 5171/5575); the "died before completing the qualifying period" provision relied on does not exist in the primary text (it was a secondary-source claim). Actual Rule 5 requires (a) combat/enemy-caused incident, (b) a Ministerially-acknowledged operation (clasp), or (c) 55+ continuous/90+ non-continuous days in an operational area -- none of which this record's cause of death clearly demonstrates.
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".