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Mande , Augusto (A)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
31552
Old ROH no.
879
Service No.
78910650SP
Last Name
Mande 2
First Name
Augusto
Initials
A
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1953 (±1 yr) 317
Age at Death
30
Death Record
Date of Death
04 March 1983 109
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action 14,654
Killed in action, in a contact with the enemy. (Operation Snoek)
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
32 (Buffalo) Battalion 275
Later renamed 32 Battalion
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,834
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Namibia 768
Locality
Caprivi 225
Cemetery
KIMBO CEMETERY, BUFFALO 177
Grave Reference
OLD SEC 243 1
Memorial
32 Battalion Tree of Honour roll, transcribed by Derek Walker Source: graves-at-eggsa.org (site now inactive), via Mike Sandham, 28 Aug 2026
Names on Tree of Honour
Memorial
32 Battalion Tree of Honour
Location
Within the Voortrekker Monument heritage precinct, Pretoria
Address
Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
Coordinates
-25.77639, 28.17583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
Tree of Honour
On the panel
No. 88
Awards
Pro Patria Medal
Pro Patria Medal
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

Husband of Mrs. P. Estavancia

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 04 Mar 2024: 78910650SP Sergeant Augusto Mande, 32 Battalion, Killed in Action during a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola during Operation Snoek, age 30. Same contact as Kativa J.D. PN 31005. Graham rank Sergeant; ROH Corporal — not overwritten. Cause already Operation Snoek. Unit2 was Air Force — set to Army. | Also Last Post 04 Mar 2021: 78910650SP Sergeant Augusto Mande, 32 Battalion, KIA Operation Snoek Southern Angola, age 30. Graham rank Sergeant; ROH Corporal already noted on 04 Mar 2024. Same contact as Kativa J.D. PN 31005.
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
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 04 Mar 2024: 78910650SP Sergeant Augusto Mande, 32 Battalion, Killed in Action during a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola during Operation Snoek, age 30. Same contact as Kativa J.D. PN 31005. Graham rank Sergeant; ROH Corporal — not overwritten. Cause already Operation Snoek. Unit2 was Air Force — set to Army.
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 04 Mar 2021: 78910650SP Sergeant Augusto Mande from 32 Battalion was Killed in Action during a contact with enemy forces in Southern Angola during Operation Snoek. He was 30. Graham rank Sergeant; ROH Corporal — not overwritten. Same contact as Kativa J.D. PN 31005.
  • 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, pages 50-53: gives date 1983-04-03 vs ROH 1983-03-04 (day/month appear transposed; SN 78910650SP matches exactly) — confirmed match, not overwritten.
Stories 1
on 08 December 2010 · via source
On the evening of 3 April 1983, the first and fourth platoons from 32 Battalion's Alpha Company were preparing to set an ambush on a road four kilometres north-east of Vinte Sete, when they spotted six SWAPO insurgents moving ahead of them. They were spotted in turn and the SWAPO men managed to run to cover in a more favourable position, before opening fire on Alpha Company, pinning the latter down for some 15 minutes and inflicting a number of casualties on them before withdrawing under cover of an 82 mm mortar bombardment. The combat had definitely ended in favour of SWAPO on this occasion, as Alpha Company suffered two fatalities, Sergeant A. Mande and Rifleman J.D. Kativa, whilst 11 other members were wounded, including both platoon commanders, 2nd Lieutenants A du Plessis and G.W. Roos. Information extracted from 32 Battalion: The Inside Story of South Africa's Elite Fighting Unit ,
Dedications 1
by Leon Grobler on 24 January 2007 · via source
Augusto Mande, very good Platoon Sgt and friend. It was a big shock to me, your death. I will always remember you as someone very loyal, and someone help leading our platoon to victories / through hardships, how we cried over the deaths of our troops, such as Savate. You always protected the troops in our platoon. It seems like a lifetime ago, but I will always remember you. Your nickname Puma (very strong) was your trademark. A true soldier. sleep well my friend.