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Viljoen , Petrus Jacobus (P J)

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Photo of Viljoen
Identity
Person No.
33743
Old ROH no.
2052
Service No.
73239311KT
Last Name
Viljoen 91
First Name
Petrus Jacobus
Initials
P J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1958 (±1 yr) 437
Age at Death
23
Death Record
Date of Death
17 March 1981 93
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action 14,654
Killed in action, skirmish with FRELIMO (Mozambique Army) troops near Ponta do Ouro, on the Mozambique border
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
South African Commandos 98
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Pietermaritzburg Commando 1
Later renamed Natalia Regiment
Defence Force
SADF 3,839
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,872
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
VEREENIGING (JACOBSKOP) CEMETERY 23
Grave Reference
4 1
Unit History
Role at time of death
Infantry (area defence)
Status
Commando (Area Bound Reserve)
Part of
SADF Commando System category
Part of
Group 9
Generic Regiment-field text used across hundreds of records whose actual unit is a specific local Commando (e.g. Rustenburg Commando, Boksburg Commando -- captured in Unit). Post-WWII, "Commando" is its own force-component category alongside Regular/Permanent Force and Active Citizen Force -- area-bound, part-time reserve units tied to a specific district, mobilised for local counter-insurgency/area protection duties during the Border War era. Not a single regiment; this Status applies to the whole category.
Awards
Pro Patria Medal
Pro Patria Medal
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 Mrs. R. E. Van Tonder, of Port Shepstone.

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Mar 2024: 73239311KT Corporal Petrus Jacobus Viljoen, Pietermaritzburg Commando, Killed in Action during a skirmish with FRELIMO troops near Ponta do Ouro, on the Mozambique border, age 23. ROH already had Mozambique Army at Ponta do Ouro; FRELIMO filled into CauseDeath. Unit2 54th Bn "B" Coy 2nd Platoon was polluted across consecutive Viljoen rows — cleared to Army. | Also Last Post 17 Mar 2020: 73239311KT Rifleman Petrus Jacobus Viljoen, Pietermaritzburg Commando, KIA FRELIMO near Ponta do Ouro, age 23. ROH rank is Corporal (not overwritten).
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".

Citations
Unknown
External References
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Mar 2024: 73239311KT Corporal Petrus Jacobus Viljoen, Pietermaritzburg Commando, Killed in Action during a skirmish with FRELIMO troops near Ponta do Ouro, on the Mozambique border, age 23. ROH already had Mozambique Army at Ponta do Ouro; FRELIMO filled into CauseDeath. Unit2 54th Bn "B" Coy 2nd Platoon was polluted across consecutive Viljoen rows — cleared to Army.
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Mar 2020: 73239311KT Rifleman Petrus Jacobus Viljoen from the Pietermaritzburg Commando was Killed in Action during a skirmish with FRELIMO troops near Ponta do Ouro. He was 23. ROH rank is Corporal — not overwritten. FRELIMO already filled into CauseDeath from 17 Mar 2024.
  • 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 42-45 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
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