Identity
Person No.
32195
Old ROH no.
1035
Service No.
73560344BA
Last Name
First Name
Barend Hermanus
Initials
B H
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
18
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, fatally wounded during Ops Savannah when playing with a captured enemy 75mm recoilless gun when it went off. Killed by back blast
Military Service
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Operation
Operation
Dates
1975-10-14 to 1976-03-27
About
SADF intervention in the Angolan Civil War following Portugal's withdrawal, in support of UNITA and the FNLA against the Soviet/Cuban-backed MPLA. South African armoured columns (Task Force Zulu and others) advanced deep into Angola, reaching within striking distance of Luanda, before withdrawing by late March 1976 amid international and domestic political fallout. South Africa's first large post-WWII conventional deployment and the opening chapter of the Border War's Angola phase.
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
Son of Mr. P. S. Neethling
Research notes
4 Sep 2026: Unit leftover "4 Field Regiment" (a named regiment, not a sub-unit) moved to Regiment. Corps unchanged. | Gunners Association RoH lists them (South African Border War 1975 Gunner B.H. Neethling) - https://www.gunners.org.za/home-2/roll-of-honour/
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
-
Gunners' Association of South Africa Roll of Honour
open source ↗
South African Border War 1975 Gunner B.H. Neethling
-
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 26-28 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War in Angola Member Dedications forum (www.warinangola.com), Excel export supplied by Johan Schoeman, 1 Sep 2026. Forum post(s): 38304.
Stories 1
Shortly after the battles surrounding Bridge 14 in Angola, during Operation Savannah , and before the South Africans resumed their advance, on 17 December 1975 Gunner B.H. Neethling accidentally discharged one of his battery's 75 mm cannons. He was struck by the recoiling cannon and killed, whilst the shell fired struck a nearby ammunition truck, destroying it, but fortunately without any further loss of life. Information obtained from Avontuur in Angola by Sophia du Preez(J.L. van Schaik 1989) Peter
Dedications 1
See the News report "Soldier dies in gun accident - Daily Dispatch 23 December 1975"