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Lourens , Cornelius Johannes (C J)

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Identity
Person No.
31394
Old ROH no.
832
Service No.
74382862BG
Last Name
Lourens 36
First Name
Cornelius Johannes
Initials
C J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1958 (±1 yr) 437
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
29 September 1977 108
Cause code
FF 52
Friendly fire
Cause of Death
Died in Friendly Fire Incident 40
Died in Friendly Fire Incident, during an ambush. Just after 2am on that day, four members from the 4 SAI were killed by friendly fire at Okalongo, when a soldier watching the rear of the ambush position suddenly turned around and opened fire on his fellow soldiers
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
4 South African Infantry Battalion 97
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,828
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,872
Locality
KwaZulu-Natal 1,589
Cemetery
VRYHEID CEMETERY 37
Grave Reference
Row 197 Grave 10 1
Coordinates
-27.78104, 30.79888 OSM
Memorial
1977 SAA (Kruger–Maquinda, Walker–Wilters) to 1978 SAA (Amorim–Cassamano, Hunter–Mandunga)
Names on 1977-1978 SAA Kruger-Mandunga
Memorial
SADF Wall of Remembrance
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
Coordinates
-25.77639, 28.17583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
1977-1978 SAA Kruger-Mandunga
On the panel
1977 Army. Left column. 8th name from the top (Lourens C.J.)
Unit History
Part of
Infantry Formation (SAAIF) — Motorised Infantry — Regular
Notes

Son of Cornelius Johannes Jakobus "Neels" Lourens and Anetta Lourens (nee Potgieter). ref. "Rhodesian Combined Forces Roll of Honour 1966-1981", by Adrian Haggett and Gerry van Tonder.

Research notes

SADF Wall of Remembrance (Voortrekker Monument): named on photograph "1977 SAA (Kruger–Maquinda, Walker–Wilters) to 1978 SAA (Amorim–Cassamano, Hunter–Mandunga)". 1977 Army. Left column. 8th name from the top (Lourens C.J.).
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Air Force" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Army". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
on 30 September 2014 · via source
29 Sep 1977: Four members from 4 SAI were killed in a friendly fire incident at Okalongo when a soldier who was watching the rear of the ambush position suddenly turned around and opened fire on his fellow soldiers. The soldier in question subsequently appeared in the Windhoek Supreme Court on a charge of murder but was medically diagnosed as having acute schizophrenia and subsequently declared medically unfit to stand trial. The casualties in this unfortunate incident were: 69206464PE Sergeant Jan Pieter Albertus Furstenburg. He was 24 74413659BB Corporal Leslie Muller. He was 19. 74281734BG Rifleman Jan Joachim Jacobus de Vos. He was 18 74382862BG Rifleman Cornelius Johannes Lourens. He was 19
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.