June 2013 - Department of Defence

S A S O L D I E ReventsSA Air Force paid homage toits fallen heroes and heroinesArticle and photos by S SgtLebogang TlhaoleThe fallen heroes and heroinesof the SA Air Force werehonoured during the AnnualJoint Memorial Service of theSA Air Force and the SA AirForce Association and wreathlayingceremony held at Bays Hill inValhalla on 19 May 2013. The aim ofthe memorial service was to honourservicemen and women who laiddown their lives while serving theRepublic of South Africa betweenApril 2012 and May 2013.Thirteen servicemen and womenfrom the SA Air Force perishedbetween April 2012 and May 2013.LEFT: Lt GenZimpandeMsimang, theChief of the SA AirForce, after layinga wreath duringthe memorialservice to honourfallen soldiers ofthe SA Air Force.Eleven crew membersdied when a Dakotaaircraft crashed intothe Drakensberg inDecember 2012, whileanother two SA AirForce members werekilled in March 2013when their AgustaA109 light utilityhelicopter plunged to the ground inthe Kruger National Park.The names of the 13 deceased wereadded to a wall of remembrance.The fallen heroes were honoured fordedicating their lives to serving thecountry, and that is how they shouldalways be remembered.The 2013 memorial service was alsoused to celebrate 50 years of selflesscommitment and dedication displayedby members of the SA Air Force in theservice of the Republic. A symbolicfly-past by an SA Air Force Oryxhelicopter and a Harvard aircrafttook place to celebrate the 50 years ofdedicated service.ABOVE: Cpl Winnie Mamabolo, wife of the late Sgt Joseph MokoetlaMamabolo, and her family pay homage to her husband who laid downhis life in service of the country. He died when the Dakota aircraft inwhich he was travelling crashed into the Drakensberg in December2012.The memorial, dedicated to those thatgave their lives in the service of theircountry in war and in peace, wasopened on 1 September 1963 by thethen State President of the Republic ofSouth Africa, Mr C.R. Swart. The site20 • J U N E 2 0 1 3