Identity
Person No.
32992
Old ROH no.
1308
Service No.
75560086BG
Last Name
First Name
Gideon Johannes
Initials
G J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
25
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,780
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, during the early hours of the morning when the bungalow in which they were sleeping at Katima Mulilo received a direct hit from a Soviet GRAD-P 122mm High Explosive Katyusha Rocket. SWAPO/PLAN insurgents operating from Zambia fired 20 x 122mm GRAD-P Katyusha Rockets into the town. 18 rockets exploded harmlessly in the veld, one struck a school in the Katima Mulilo Township and the other demolished the Bungalow in which the soldiers were sleeping
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Trooper
Regiment
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
SADF 3,817
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
1978 Army. Right column. 19th name from the top (Smit G.J.)
Unit History
Role at time of death
Infantry, later Armour
Status
Permanent Force (Regular)
Part of
Same lineage as the Special Service Battalion (OrgEntityID 5278, pass 1) -- "1 Special Service Battalion" is the specific numbered battalion within that Permanent Force unit.
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
Of Roodepoort
Research notes
SADF Wall of Remembrance (Voortrekker Monument): named on photograph "1978 SAA (Castle–Havenga, Mennigke–Wolfgang)". 1978 Army. Right column. 19th name from the top (Smit G.J.). | Bushwar Books 23 Aug 2026: gives age 18 for Smit G.J. (Katima Mulilo) vs ROH age 25 — not overwritten. | Willem Steenkamp, Borderstrike! South Africa into Angola 1975–1980, 3rd ed. (Just Done Productions, 2006, ISBN 978-1-920169-00-8): PLAN titled the 23 August 1978 stand-off bombardment of Katima Mulilo “Operation Revenge” (not an SADF operation name). One 122mm rocket into a prefabricated barracks killed 10 and wounded 10; Steenkamp does not name the dead. Attack began 1.15am; some occupants were sleeping, others had come in for coffee.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Borderstrike! (Willem Steenkamp)
open source ↗
Willem Steenkamp, Borderstrike! South Africa into Angola 1975–1980, 3rd ed. (Just Done Productions, 2006, ISBN 978-1-920169-00-8)
-
Bushwar Books - Lest We Forget
open source ↗
Bushwar Books 23 Aug 2026 Lest We Forget post.
-
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 33-35 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 1
Gysbert Johannes Smit was my uncle. Born: 17 October 1953 in Groblersdal. He died on: 04th May 1981 in 1 Military hospital after being shot by a fellow soldier while on duty. He was buried in Groblersdal cemetary.
Dedications 1
He sold his Bike for a tombstone for his mother. This was the person he was and will be remembered for always!