In Memory Of

VAN DER WALT, PETRUS (PIERRE)

Service Details
Age:
 19
Date of Birth:
 1961-02-26
Service No:
 77263739BG
Rank:
 Second Lieutenant
Unit:
 32 (Buffalo) Battalion
Regiment:
 South West African Territory Force
Date of Death:
 1980-06-04
Cause of Death:
 Killed in action, south of Mutuanjamba (approximately 80km inside Angola) during first phase of Operation Sceptic, specifically area clearing and domination as well as establishment of tactical HQ at Mulemba.
Commemoration
Cemetery:
 WINBURG CEMETERY
Localitly:
 Free State
Country:
 South Africa
Additional Information
Joao was badly wounded and Braz and Van Der Walt were killed when their patrol crossed a gravel road in the kill zone of a vehicle ambush. Large force of dug in SWAPO with mortars and machine guns were able to inflict casualties and pin the patrol down. Reinforcements dislodged the ambushing force, but were forced to secure the immediate area and attend to casualties rather than pursue the enemy. When 2Lt Van Der Walt was instantly killed by a dug in PKM machine gun, Braz went to his aid and was hit multiple times by the same weapon. Van Der Walt had previously been wounded in the head by ground fire while on a C160 flight Eenhana to Ondongwa. ref. "Die Buffel Struikel" by L. J. Bothma. Came from Winburg