Pond , Mark Anthony (M A)

Mark completed his basic training at 5 SAI (July 1983 intake). We met when our group completed a 5 month tour and landed up at Nepara base. All NCOs and officers were invited to a braai at 905 Special Service Company, who were based in a cordoned off area of the base. We discovered that it was a recruitment drive and duly volunteered . (Against all army unwritten rules!) Five of us from 5 SAI were accepted and we served the remainder of our time at 905 with some of the most phenominal soldiers I had the honour of serving with, including Mark Pond. Unfortunately we only met a few times after that as we worked ten days on ops and two days in the base so when we did meet it was normally to sit at the pub and get drunk with Sgt. Major V. Venter! Mark was a true soldier and a good friend. R.I.P buddy.

I was the medical officer in Nepara at the time (It was 1985) This really was a bright light going out: Cpl. Pond was a good man. I listened to this one go down on the radio with the Int Officer (Rocco) at the time I remember this episode very clearly Mark was probably the favourite NCO of the black troops ( Yetu Nawa ) and was within days of uitklaar. The camp was devastated for weeks afterwards. The only consolation was that he died fast in the company of his friends. He died in the field, but was flown straight to Rundu. I believe he was shot by a veteran SWAPO group lead by Ambi - we thought by Ambi himself (with whom I subsequently had a run-in while doing Hearts & Minds clinics in the nearby village, unarmed (which may have saved me), against Col. Swart‘s orders ... there but for the grace of God!) I spoke to the docs in Rundu who were colleagues of mine after the autopsy - even today Mark Pond would not have survived this injury. His mother, and Capt. Burman, can rest assured of that. His mother should know that he was not just brave & kind, he was also one of those people who really make a difference. (For my sins I have been to Afghanistan 3 times to run the ICU in the main NATO hospital at Kandahar Airfield, and even with all those resources I doubt we could change the outcome) Shiwana mwalelepo emwenyo modile (You can all sleep, you are all still alive) Dr Mike Kenyon (I was a one-pip Lt at the time) Dr (2Lt) Mike Kenyon

A LETTER FROM DES BURMAN, ONE OF THE COMMANDERS OF 32 BN, TO HIS CHILDREN "Hi guys I wrote this letter to my kids to try to explain the issue of materialism and that money is not everything in the world. You might want to tell your kids the same. Rgds DES “Hello Blake and Chris, The story of Mark Pond. The moral of this story concerns life and materialism. Never forget this story. I have never met a soldier who has disregard for life or is materialistic. The reason for this when you are killing people and taking lives and trying not to be killed there is nothing in this world that is more important than life. Soldiers cannot dress properly, pick their clothes, care for expensive things, need money or try to climb the social ladder. The reason for this is your clothes are all the same every day, its either camouflage or camouflage and it the same every day and you don’t have to pick. Their home is supplied by the army, the food, the medical, the boots, the ration packs, the guns the ammo and all the rest so we don’t care a shit for anything else out there except possibly a better weapons. All soldiers are fixated by weapons. This is their tools and this is all that counts. They are all generally good survivors in ANY world. I will never be materialistic and actually don’t care a dam what other people think of what I wear or how I live etc. Also, very few soldiers have to prove anything to anybody, they have done it all. When you have to kill people, try to survive and avoid been killed and look after your mates nothing else in the world is important. Life is the ONLY important thing and you can loose it VERY fast. It is IRREPLACEABLE!!! Everything else in this world is not worth shit – it can be replaced!! So what has this to do with Mark and what is the lesson. Its simple, Mark was killed at the age of 19 whilst under my command. He had 40 days left of the army and then he was out forever. He was the only son of a great family and the only soldier that I ever lost in almost 20 years of almost continuous combat operational deployment. When Mom and I were living in South West Africa- Namibia and I was in the army in Rundu I was a Captain in the Special Forces tasked with some complicated operations. I worked in one of the military sectors called SECTOR 20. There were in total 10 Sectors in the country. My

We served together in 1984 - 1985. 905 Coy. We slept next to each other in the same tent. We ate and drank together the night before his last patrol. A brave, dedicated leader. Revenge was ours that same day. We got them Mark. We shall not forget.

Mark told me a story of a narrow escape he and 2 of his San trackers had inside Angola. They were awaken in the early hours by an enemy patrol and Mark immediately set about convincing them that they had walked into the perimetre of a large unit and that they needed to surrender. Obviously he succeeded! A few days later at Nepara base, the enemy ran through shooting it up, Mark and another gave chase, into an ambush. Brave friendly guy. I can still see his eyes all lit up telling the story. RIP. TJC 6 Maint. Rundu. 84 -85.

Ek, Maj Louis van Wyk, was toe 2iB Nepara (onder Kmdt JB Swart) en het Willem Ratte afgelos. 'n Hoofman het twee dae tevore rapporteer van terrs in sy mohango land. 'n Peleton van 905 SDK is ontplooi en het uitgesprei. 5 terrs het agter 'n boomstomp in die mohangoland gelê en wag. Kpl Pond se seksie is in en die hinderlaag is gespring. Kpl Pond is deur een terr wat opgespring het geskiet en 20 skote het hom in die bors getref. Sy enkele skoot het die terr gedood en die ander terrs is almal daarna deur die seksie gedood.