Lt Freddie Zeelie’s history revealed
Fred Zeelie's friends have never forgotten him and they will now restore his grave stone to its original state.
ALBERTON – Buddy’s care for a buddy… and 40 years later the dignity and pride of a buddy is restored by replacing a missing piece of his grave.
After the RECORD reported that a friend of Lt Fred Zeelie was looking for information regarding his grave stone, many friends of Zeelie came forward with interesting stories to tell… something like a puzzle coming together.
Lt Freddie Zeelie was the first South African Soldier to die in the Border War in 1974. He was buried at the Alberton cemetery.
His buddies compiled a list of all the graves of soldiers in SA Special Forces. Unfortunately the metal writing on the grave were stolen and, thanks to friends from Durban, it can now be restored by his war buddy and close friend, Johan from Fiji.
A photo was obtained of the original writing on the grave. The photo came from a fellow buddy of Freddie, Johnny. They both stayed in Alberton and knew each other and were in the same unit.
The restoration of the grave to its former glory and dignity is in progress.
Sad story. For the record, the officer in centre of picture is the famous Jan Breytenbach and the guy on the right Ssgt Dewald de Beer. Regards.