Died of wounds, received when his patrol, while moving along the Cut-line, was ambushed by a numerically superior force of PLAN insurgents between Beacon 11 and Beacon 12. He was hit in the head by mortar bomb shrapnel and although every effort was made to resuscitate him, he succumbed to his wounds without ever regaining consciousness. Nikolaas was part of the Infantry School COIN training phase and was with a platoon of Junior Leader candidates that were deployed to the Operational Area