De Beer , Matthys Andries (M A)

Col (rt) Graham du Toit, Last Post, 28 Aug 2026: Sgt M.A. De Beer, South African Marine Corps, age 36, died of a heart attack in the single barracks at Defence Headquarters, 28 Aug 1954. Matches ROH record.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Navy". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.