A group of former SADF 61 Mech soldiers that fought in the Border war in Angola in the early eighties held a belated remembrance day event at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Houghton Estate, 14 Novemnber 2020. They placed a wreath to honour their fallen comrades, and swopped stories but the mood wasn’t all sombre as the event was also a reunion with some of the guys having not seen their comrades in arms since their days in the bush. Picture: Neil McCartney
On Saturday, 14 November 2020, a group of veterans from 61 Mechanised Battalion group met up at the Ditsong National War Museum to hold a belated Remembrance Day event at the 61 Mech memorial there.
The memorial commemorates and honours the members of 61 Mech that lost their lives throughout the battalion’s history.
The men that gathered on Saturday were from Sierra Battery and they were there to honour all of 61 Mechs’ fallen, but specifically to honour their three fallen brothers from their time in Angola.
They reminisced about their time in Angola and discussed how they felt about their time there and their fallen brothers. Some of the men stood with their hands on others’ shoulders, with a few showing a glimpse of their eyes tearing up.
But the overwhelming feeling I as an outsider got, is that these men are proud of their time fighting, and regard it as a major highlight of their lives.
After a sombre wreath-laying ceremony, the men moved to the weapons they had used as young men in the bush.
Some of these men hadn’t seen each other since their days in Angola in 1983, but even though they were separated by time they quickly resumed normal operations, with banter and real war stories being told and laughs all around.
The guys were very willing to show and discuss what they called their “toys” to anyone nearby.
These “toys” being a 25 pounder cannon, a 140mm Breech loading Mark 3 gun and the Ratel fighting vehicle amongst others.
Some of the guys even went through the motions of firing said weapons and barking out orders to the others to give them “ Range, Elevation” and reminiscing about how their arms were “broken” carrying the heavy ammunition all over the place.
There was a sense of nostalgia, and they were talking about how they know there were very bad times during that part of their lives, but they only remember that which was good in detail, and that is what they focus on.
During their lunch afterwards at the Randburg Football Club, held in the lapa with camo-netting over it and old uniforms hanging up with pictures of their time in the unit, they carried on discussing their adventures and I’m sure they carried on reminiscing well into the early evening.
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