Identity
Person No.
33036
Old ROH no.
1998
Service No.
78492311BG
Last Name
First Name
Ettienne Marius
Initials
E M
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,780
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, at Ongiva during Ops Protea. He changed positions to get better cover and was hit in the back of the head from the side
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,817
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Operation
Operation
Dates
1981-08-23 to 1981-09-04
About
The largest SADF conventional operation since the Second World War at the time it was launched: a deep mechanised incursion into Cunene province, Angola, against SWAPO and Angolan (FAPLA) forces, resulting in the occupation of Xangongo and Ongiva and the capture of large quantities of Soviet-supplied FAPLA equipment.
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
Son of Mr. and Mrs. P. L. Snyman
Research notes
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 27 Aug 2026 / Bushwar Books Lest We Forget 27 August (https://www.warbooks.co.za/posts/lest-we-forget-27-august/ Ops Protea, Ongiva. Graham: killed instantly changing position for cover, bullet to side of head. ROH has back/side of head — confirmed.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Bushwar Books - Lest We Forget
open source ↗
Lest We Forget 27 August
-
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
Graham Last Post 27 Aug 2026 — Ops Protea
-
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 46-47 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 2
Rfn Snyman was serving in B Company 5 SAI during Ops Protea when he lost his life at Ongiva.
RFN Snyman was with Dave v Rensburg . They both were also involved in an incident at Boschhoek during second phase. They were struck by lightning during a thunderstorm, they were hiding in the trench next to the mag, of which the barrel was pointing upwards. R.I.P.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.