Identity
Person No.
31591
Old ROH no.
889
Service No.
70237326
Last Name
First Name
Dewald
Initials
D
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
24
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, in Angola, shot down, in English Electric Canberra #452. On a bombing mission and left 12 Squadron on the evening of 14th March 1979 at about 16H00. Four Canberras flew in formation and while doing a low level tree top flight and dropping bombs something from the ground fired and hit the Canberra on the side, killing the pilot, D. Marais, instantly. Nav. O.J. Doyle flew the plane from the navigator's position for about 12 minutes with bomb bay doors open. Eventually the plane climbed steeply, turned, and crashed into the ground half inverted, exploding on impact, at about 17H00
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Lieutenant
Regiment
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Civilian
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
Awards
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. J. Marais, of Pretoria
Research notes
5 Sep 2026: Unit "12 Squadron" (a squadron, SAAF's regiment-equivalent) promoted to Regiment, per John's decision. Corps (South African Air Force) unchanged.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
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 (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 66-76 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 1
Lt Dewald (Wallie) Marais as the pilot and his navigator, 2nd Lt Owen Doyle, were killed on 14 March 1979 when their aircraft, Canberra 452, crashed in Angola after a low level Alpha bomb attack on Ediva at 17h00 as part of Ops Rekstok. They were flying as No 2 in the 4-ship formation when Wallie was hit as we bombed the target. With Wallie fatally injured and hanging limp in his ejection seat harness over the flight controls, the aircraft turned for base with Owen Doyle trying to fly the aircraft from the navigator crash seat from where he had no outside view or radio communication with anybody. At 17h15 the No 3 in the formation, who detached to shadow the limping aircraft, reported that the aircraft stalled, crashed and exploded. May your souls rest in peace. Riem Mouton - strike leader, 12 Squadron. Lt Col Riem Mouton, SAAF
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.