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Van Niekerk , Johannes Petrus (J P)

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Photo of Van Niekerk
Identity
Person No.
33552
Old ROH no.
1486
Service No.
69493930PE
Last Name
Van Niekerk 157
First Name
Johannes Petrus
Initials
J P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1954 (±1 yr) 318
Age at Death
32
Death Record
Date of Death
21 August 1986 115
Cause code
FF 52
Friendly fire
Cause of Death
Died in Shooting Incident 290
Died in Shooting Incident, at Rundu. Friendly fire while climbing into Buffel
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Regiment
Sector 2 2
Unit
Intelligence 5
Secondary Unit
Air Force
Defence Force
SADF 3,821
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,859
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
JOHANNESBURG (WEST PARK) CEMETERY 478
Grave Reference
Grave 6637 DRB 1
Coordinates
-26.15926, 27.9943 OSM
Notes

Brother of Mrs. H. Du Toit, of Pietersburg

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 21 Aug 2026: 69493930PE Staff Sergeant Johannes Petrus van Niekerk, Sector 20 Headquarters Intelligence Section, gunshot wound accidentally sustained at Rundu while climbing into a Buffel Troop Carrier, age 32. ROH Regiment Sector 2 / Unit Intelligence and CauseDied friendly fire while climbing into Buffel left (Graham: Sector 20 HQ, accidental). DATE DISCREPANCY 25 Aug 2026: pantser.cmvo.org.za's SADF deaths PDF gives this person's Sterf (date of death) as "20 08 86" (DD MM YY) against the same ServiceNo (69493930PE) and name -- differs from this record's DateDeath (1986-08-21). 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.

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
on 11 September 2011 · via source
S.SGT Van Niekerk was based in Rundu, Sector 20 and formed part of the Intelligence team. While operating with the team across the border he was shot by a member of 201 Battalion as he climbed into a Buffel. C.Dicks
Dedications

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