1. Shot down at Mapai, Mozambique 6 September 1979
Subtracted from the article by Neill Jackson - 'A tribute to the Crew of Puma 164 - and its last 14 passengers'.
'With the complete withdrawal of Frelimo and ZANLA troops from the Mapai area, the local headmen decided to bury the bodies of the fallen men where they lay, and placed them in two large graves, next to each other.
These graves remained unmarked and unkept for thirty years, their whereabouts unknown to all but the local population, who treated the crash area with reverence and respect, and no-one ventured anywhere near the grave site.
On Saturday 12 April 2009, a small search party led by former RLI Lieutenant Rick van Malsen discovered the crash site of Puma 164, and the graves of the seventeen brave men who died there. These men were finally laid to rest by their comrades-inarms, with a short service, and the placing of a memorial cross on the larger of the two graves.
The Roll of Honour of the fallen men was read out, whilst the haunting sounds of The Last Post rang out over the silent African bush.'
The ROLL OF HONOUR as it appears in the 'Lost in Mapai - The search for SAAF Puma 164' by Rick van Malsen:-
CAPT JOHANNES MATHEUS DU PLOOY 1 RLI
2ND LT BRUCE FRASER BURNS ENG
CPL LEROY DUBERLEY ENG
L/CPL PETER FOX ENG
TPR AIDEN JAMES COLEMAN 1 RLI
TPR BRIAN LOUIS ENSLIN 1 RLI
TPR COLIN GRAHAM NEASHAM 1 RLI
CAPT PAUL VELLERMAN SAAF
F/SGT DICK RETIEF SAAF
CAPT CHARLES DAVID SMALL ENG
SGT MICHAEL ALAN JONES ENG
CPL GORDON HUGH FRY 1 RLI
TPR JACOBUS ALWYN BRIEL 1 RLI
TPR MARK JEREMY CROW 1 RLI
TPR STEVEN ERIC KING 1 RLI
TPR DAVID REX PROSSER 1 RLI
LT NIGEL OSBORNE SAAF
According to Leon Bezuidenhout there is an 18th member buried here:-
Leading Aircraftsman ALEC WESSON
Members of the 2009 search party were: Rick van Malsen, Kevin Jones, Malcolm Macrimmon, Neill Jackson, “Stan” Standish White, Duff Odendaal and Gareth Barry.
Date: 21 Jun 2010
Contributed by: Neill Jackson, Rick van Malsen and Leon Bezuidenhout
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