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Du Plessis , Petrus Johannes (P J)

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Photo of Du Plessis
Identity
Person No.
30138
Old ROH no.
380
Service No.
78444866PE
Last Name
Du Plessis 173
First Name
Petrus Johannes
Initials
P J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1962 (±1 yr) 362
Age at Death
22
Death Record
Date of Death
28 September 1984 100
Cause code
ACC 1,595
Accident
Cause of Death
Died in Freak Accident 255
Died in Freak Accident, at Oshakati, petrol stove exploded
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
1 Special Service Battalion 21
Corps
South African Armoured Corps 438
Unit
1 Special Service Battalion 51
Defence Force
SADF 3,874
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,879
Locality
North West 534
Cemetery
ZEERUST MUNICIPAL CEMETERY 15
Grave Reference
A4 1
Coordinates
-25.53738, 26.07708 OSM
Unit History
Role at time of death
Armour (Armoured Car)
Status
Permanent Force (Regular)
Part of
Armour Formation (SAAAF) — Armoured Car — Regular
Resuscitated as a Permanent Force unit in 1946, when the South African Armoured Corps was officially proclaimed and the Special Service Battalion was included in it as the corps's only full-time unit, its symbols and colours being incorporated. Same lineage as the Special Service Battalion (OrgEntityID 5278); "1 Special Service Battalion" is the specific numbered battalion within that Permanent Force unit. SOURCE CONFLICT, recorded rather than resolved: the 1 SSB article says the post-war reorganisation produced "1 Special Service Battalion and 1 South African Infantry Battalion", which would make 1 SAI the other battalion from the start. The Special Service Battalion and 2 SSB articles instead have the second battalion carrying the name 2 SSB until 26 January 1951, when it was renamed 1 SAI. The two accounts cannot both be right about when the name 1 SAI appeared. NO OrgEntityAlias is recorded for 2221 on the strength of either. Border War service falls in this era: South West Africa and Angola, with squadrons detached to battlegroups rather than the regiment deploying whole -- among them 63 Mechanised Battalion Group, on Operations Merlyn and Agree in 1989. Equipped with the Eland 60 and Eland 90. All but three of the men on this roll who point at 2221 died in this period. The Union Defence Force became the South African Defence Force in 1957, part-way through this era; no man on this roll attached to 2221 died before 1964, so the change affects none of them.
Notes

Son of Mr. and Mrs. P. F. T. du Plessis

Research notes

26 Aug 2026: Unit leftover "2 South African Infantry Battalion" → 1 Special Service Battalion (SAWGP Unit).
14 Sep 2026: Pro Patria Medal added -- database-wide sweep for SADF Border War operational-area deaths within the medal's gazetted window (25 Jun 1976 - 27 Apr 2003), per the warrant's died-before-qualifying-period provision. See PersonAward.Citation for the gazette references.
14 Sep 2026: Pro Patria Medal added earlier today REVERTED -- John obtained the actual Government Gazette (GG 5171/5575); the "died before completing the qualifying period" provision relied on does not exist in the primary text (it was a secondary-source claim). Actual Rule 5 requires (a) combat/enemy-caused incident, (b) a Ministerially-acknowledged operation (clasp), or (c) 55+ continuous/90+ non-continuous days in an operational area -- none of which this record's cause of death clearly demonstrates.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED as a duplicate. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word repeating what the Branch column already says. Secondary Unit is for sub-units -- a company, a squadron, a commando -- and this record's branch of service is unchanged at "Army".
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 28 Sep 2026: "78444866PE Corporal Petrus Johannes Du Plessis from 1 Special Service Battalion died after being grievously burned in an accidental petrol stove explosion at Oshakati while the armoured vehicles were in laager. He was 22." Confirms the record exactly. Bushwar Books Lest We Forget 28 September (bushwar-books) republishes this entry verbatim, no discrepancy.
- UNIT FILLED IN: this record carried no Unit; set to 1 Special Service Battalion, consistent with the stored South African Armoured Corps.

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
by Graham Du Toit on 28 September 2014 · via source
28 Sep 1984: 78444866PE Corporal Petrus Johannes Du Plessis from 1 Special Service Battalion died after being grievously burned when a petrol stove accidentally exploded at Oshakati while the armoured vehicles were in a laager. . He was 22.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.