Identity
Person No.
33927
Service No.
68343599PE
Last Name
First Name
Freddie Johannes
Initials
F J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
22
Military Service
Rank
Lieutenant
Regiment
Unit
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
SADF 3,297
South African Defence Force
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,414
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, at Bwabwata Western Caprivi. While under attack by machine gun fire, he stormed the emplacements and overpowered one gun crew and forced the other to retreat. He was killed in the process
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Awards
Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD)
South Africa · awarded 1974-06-23
Posthumously awarded the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD), gazetted 6 December 1974. Lieutenant F.J. Zeelie, 1 Reconnaissance Regiment, single-handedly stormed an enemy machine-gun position at Bwabwata, Western Caprivi, on 23 June 1974. He was the first SADF combat casualty of the Border War, and one of only seven LWD recipients (two posthumous). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louw_Wepener_Decoration
Notes
First official Border War death
Research notes
SASFA In Memoriam (operators): confirmed Special Forces operator. SASFA: Zeelie Fred LWD(p) KIA 1974. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf
Citations
Posthumously awarded the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD), gazetted 6 December 1974. Lieutenant F.J. Zeelie, 1 Reconnaissance Regiment, single-handedly stormed an enemy machine-gun position at Bwabwata, Western Caprivi, on 23 June 1974. He was the first SADF combat casualty of the 1966–1989 Border War, and one of only seven LWD recipients (two posthumous). Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louw_Wepener_Decoration
External References
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Other web source
Wikipedia Louw Wepener Decoration: Lt F.J. Zeelie, 1 RR, posthumous LWD, first SADF Border War combat death
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SADF.info Border Roll of Honour
SADF.info Border RoH
- South African War Graves Project
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The War in Angola
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 26-28 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
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Unit veterans association
SASFA In Memoriam: Zeelie Fred LWD(p) KIA 1974 — confirmed Special Forces operator
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samilhistory.com
samilhistory.com 1 RR tag / de Klerk & Bezuidenhout: first SADF combat casualty of the Border War (23 Jun 1974). Account places the contact in Southern Angola; ROH AddInfo has Bwabwata, Western Caprivi.
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