Identity
Person No.
32386
Old ROH no.
1090
Service No.
81421455BG
Last Name
First Name
Daniel Pieter
Initials
D P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
MVA 2,631
Motor vehicle accident
Cause of Death
Died in Military Vehicle Accident, Unimog (127mm Rocket Launcher) overturned near Otjiwarongo
Military Service
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
Notes
Son of Mr. and Mrs. P. M. Oosthuizen, of Vanderbijlpark
Research notes
Gunners Association RoH lists them (South African Border War 1983 Gunner D.P. Oosthuizen) - https://www.gunners.org.za/home-2/roll-of-honour/
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Navy" 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
-
Gunners' Association of South Africa Roll of Honour
open source ↗
South African Border War 1983 Gunner D.P. Oosthuizen
-
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 98-99 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 2
Danie Oosthuizen was a number 3 on a 127 mm rocket launcher. He trained as we all did in Potch at 14 Field Regt as a gunner and when we made the transition to the launchers he continued as a no 3. We were on our way to the border to take part in Operation Askari, and were travelling in convoy from our base in Middelburg where our battery had been moved to form part of the battle group based in 4 SAI. We were to join 62 Mech in Omutiya. We had all been issued with live ammo prior to leaving Middelburg and were driving through Namibia somewhere past Otjiwarongo. Rudi Simpelaar who was Danie's no 1 on the launcher was driving the Unimog (they were left hand drive vehicles) and Danie was in the passenger seat. Rudi had his R4 resting on the rear view mirror bracket and was taking the odd shot at game along the road. A shot went off, he lost control of the unimog and rolled it. Danie had his arm resting out of the open window when the mog rolled. He was badly injured in the accident, I remember seeing his injuries and seeing him leave in the transport to the hospital in Otjiwarongo. He died that night (I think, or maybe the next) and I still have a photograph of the unimog after the accident. He was in my troop, I was battery survey sergeant and he was a fine young man. His brother was in the same battery and I remember Johan being told of the loss of his brother, I still think of him when I drag out my old army photos.
Danie Oosthuizen and I trained together as number three gunners. We operated the sights on cannons and rocket lauchers. He was driving his MRL in front of me, in convoy, when it rolled. The rear wheel hit the culvert and it shot up into the air. I remember the shock and horror of seeing the Unimog flying through the air. Then the dust and debris blocking ones view. I stopped the on coming traffic and ran into the dust to find the two occupants. Danie was lying about 50 meters from the MRL. His arm was chopped off and he was full of deep cuts. The roof of the Unimog tore and was sharp as blades. We also found Rudi Simpelaar. His calf was cut to the bone. His was full of bruises and scrapes. Our medic Mark Webster arrived and did his utmost to save Danie. Mark was a professional medic with five years of experience with Cape Metro. We loaded the injured on tables to transport them, held the drips, picked up the mess. Danie died that night. I think he was not eighteen yet.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.