Son of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. van der Merwe, of Noordhoek, Bloemfontein. ref. "Rhodesian Roll of Honour" by P. Geldenhuys (Roll compiled by Dr. J. R. T. Wood)
SADF Wall of Remembrance (Voortrekker Monument): named on photograph "1978 SAA (Castle–Havenga, Mennigke–Wolfgang)". 1978 Army. Right column. 36th name from the top (Van Der Merwe H.G.).
SASFA In Memoriam (operators): confirmed Special Forces operator. SASFA: Van der Merwe Mac KIA 1978. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf MERGE 25 Aug 2026: PersonNumber 48691 ("Van der Merwe") deleted as a duplicate of this record -- identical ServiceNo (70220991PE) and DateDeath (1978-09-21), surname a spelling/OCR/case variant, confirmed via the pantser.cmvo.org.za SADF deaths PDF cross-check. Same class of error as the Sekonjela/Sekonyela merge earlier the same day. 26 Aug 2026: Regiment was "5th Reconnaissance Regiment". SAWGP Regiment 5th Reconnaissance Regiment, Unit D Sqn, 5 Recce Commando, SADF. | Diedericks, André. Journey Without Boundaries: The operational life and experiences of a SA Special Forces Small Team Operator. Just Done Productions, Durban, 2007 (ISBN 978-1-920169-58-9): names Sgt Mac van der Merwe, fatally wounded in a trench at Mapai (Mozambique) the day before a Puma was shot down (SAAF crew and 15 Rhodesians). SASFA already identifies this record as Mac KIA 1978; ROH has Op Snoopy / Chimoio, 21 September 1978. Mapai/Uric date not overwritten.
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 21 Sep 2026: "70220991PE Sergeant Hendrik Gerhardus van der Merwe from 5 Reconnaissance Regiment attached to \"D\" Squadron Rhodesian Special Air Service was Killed in Action after being hit in the throat by enemy rifle fire during an attack on a ZANLA Base in the Chimoio area of Moçambique during Operation Snoopy. He was 23." The base, area, operation and manner of death already matched. CONFLICT flagged, not changed, and it is a substantive one: this record gives the squadron as "D Sqn, 5 Reconnaissance Commando, SADF", while Graham has him ATTACHED TO D Squadron of the RHODESIAN Special Air Service -- a different force. Graham also specifies the wound: hit in the throat by rifle fire.
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".
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Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
Graham Last Post 21 Sep 2026
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Journey Without Boundaries (André Diedericks)
open source ↗
Diedericks, André. Journey Without Boundaries: The operational life and experiences of a SA Special Forces Small Team Operator. Just Done Productions, Durban, 2007 (ISBN 978-1-920169-58-9)
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
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The War in Angola
open source ↗
War in Angola Member Dedications forum (www.warinangola.com), Excel export supplied by Johan Schoeman, 1 Sep 2026. Forum post(s): 27362.
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Unit veterans association
open source ↗
SASFA In Memoriam: Van der Merwe Mac KIA 1978 — confirmed Special Forces operator
"I was in SAS, was on this operation and witnessed the event. We were chopped onto a clearing (granite outcrop with trees to the side). There were SAS and D Sqn at the LZ site. While we were waiting for our orders a Hawker Hunter (not vampire) mistakenly attacked our position. There were two of them one behind the other. There had been lots of air strikes that morning and due to the bush being dry there was a lot of smoke/haze in the air. The first Hunter dropped a 500lb golf bomb and it detonated in front of our position. The commanding officer on the ground who was in comms with the Hunters very quickly told them to abort. The second Hunter did not release it’s weapons. If he (commanding officer) had not acted quickly there would surely have been more injuries. Cpl Donnelly was hit in the leg - femoral artery and died within 30 min. Another SAS soldier Cpl Paul Campion was also injured in the leg but it was superficial and he was airlifted out and survived. This I believe was around 10.00. We then moved off the LZ and moved towards a vast base camp where there were klms of zig zag trenches and fox holes. Late in the afternoon we made contact with them and this is where Sgt Van der Merwe was shot. The same commanding officer ran to him under fire, picked him up and ran back with him to the medics. Unfortunately as you know, he died. So they died on the same day but it was two different incidents. I hope this clarifies the tragic events that day.
Please feel free to contact me for further clarity. I will be glad to help.
Kind regards,
Mark Dovale
mezger@flatsix.co.za"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK, MARK!