Van As , Jacob Daniel Otto (J D O)

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 26 Sep 2025: 76567023BG Private Jacob Daniel Otto van As, 1 Maintenance Unit, killed in a military vehicle accident at Grootfontein, age 18. | Also Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 26 Sep 2023 (same anniversary names).
SADF Wall of Remembrance (Voortrekker Monument): named on photograph "1978 SAA (Castle–Havenga, Mennigke–Wolfgang)". 1978 Army. Right column. 31st name from the top (Van As J.D.O.). DATE DISCREPANCY 25 Aug 2026: pantser.cmvo.org.za's SADF deaths PDF gives this person's Sterf (date of death) as "25 09 78" (DD MM YY) against the same ServiceNo (76567023BG) and name -- differs from this record's DateDeath (1978-09-26). Not overwritten, flagged for reference.
14 Sep 2026: Pro Patria Medal added -- database-wide sweep for SADF Border War operational-area deaths within the medal's gazetted window (25 Jun 1976 - 27 Apr 2003), per the warrant's died-before-qualifying-period provision. See PersonAward.Citation for the gazette references.
14 Sep 2026: Pro Patria Medal added earlier today REVERTED -- John obtained the actual Government Gazette (GG 5171/5575); the "died before completing the qualifying period" provision relied on does not exist in the primary text (it was a secondary-source claim). Actual Rule 5 requires (a) combat/enemy-caused incident, (b) a Ministerially-acknowledged operation (clasp), or (c) 55+ continuous/90+ non-continuous days in an operational area -- none of which this record's cause of death clearly demonstrates.
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".
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 25 Sep 2026: "76567023BG Private Jacob Daniel Otto van As from the Administrative Service Corps attached to 1 Maintenance Unit was killed in a military vehicle accident at Grootfontein. He was 18." DATE CONFLICT, NOT CHANGED -- and it is Graham against Graham.
- This record holds 26 September 1978. Graham's own Last Posts of 26 Sep 2023 and 26 Sep 2025, both already cited on this record, place him on the 26th. Today's post places him on the 25th.
- The 25th is not new: the pantser.cmvo.org.za SADF deaths list gives "25 09 78" for this service number, flagged on this record on 25 Aug 2026 and not acted on. So the count now stands at two readings for the 25th (pantser, Graham 2026) against two for the 26th (this roll, Graham 2023 and 2025) -- with Graham on both sides of it.
- The date is therefore left at 26 September. A source that has published both dates cannot settle the question on its own, and nothing else has been offered to break the tie. Graham adds one detail the record lacked: his corps, the Administrative Service Corps.