Identity
Person No.
33674
Old ROH no.
1578
Service No.
73336885BG
Last Name
First Name
Abraham Izak Emmanuel
Initials
A I E
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
20
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, during an ambush between Eenhana and Onganga, near St Mary's Mission. 1 SAI set the ambush which resulted in the death of 9 insurgents and 2 SADF members
Military Service
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
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 Jan Louis and Maria Catharina De Villiers Meyer Venter, of Memel.
Research notes
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Air Force" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Army". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
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 29-32 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 3
Hi John, this was my nephew he was in 1 SAI Bloemfontein. They were one of the first okes to use Ratels. As I were told by his parents the Ratel were shotout by RPG. Nice site! I will see if I can get more info. you got any ideas or links??
I think the Guy that was killed with Braam was 'Brecher' and the guy who lost his leg in the same battle was Middleton, I think from Durban.
Hi Karel, Those pics took me back. We were based at Etale base in Owamboland, and there apparently was intelligence that St. Mary?s Mission was supporting SWAPO. I believe that they had info that a group of SWAPO was coming to them that day, because a much bigger ambush was arranged then we had ever done before, or in fact since then. We had always done ambushes in section strength (10 men) before that. This one was in, I think approximately platoon strength (35), but run by a Major, with several sergeants and corporals. The troops involved were however picked from the whole company, and not just 1 platoon. I was however not one of them, but I was involved in the follow up ops, and obviously discussed the whole event with the guys who were there. I lived with the guys who were directly involved for the next 13 months, and believe that this is a true account of what happened. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy; font-family: Arial
Dedications 1
H J Knoesen 1SAI 1977. I met Braam Venter at Newcastle Station as we were on our way for National Service at ISAI Tempe Bloemfontein. We stuck together through basic. Then came phase 2 where we were separated. I will never forget on Bloem Airport we spoke, I told Braam hove excited I was to be going to war. He then Cpl Venter replied, 'I know I'm not coming home.' I tried to convince Braam that as we entered the army together, so we will go home together. He was killed in action 08 / 12 / 77 Dr Harry Knoesen 2012