A rather nice tribute to the SADF of old using a compilation of images and video:
Guardians of White Africa
A rather nice tribute to the SADF of old using a compilation of images and video:
Guardians of White Africa
This may sound sort of out of place but did the SADF ever accept foreign volunteers? I only ask because I remember reading about an American soldier who fought and was wounded in Vietnam and then went and joined the Rhodesian SAS for 10 years. When the war was over he then joined the SADF. Had I been born a couple of decades earlier I think I would have moved to South Africa and joined the SADF if they accepted foreign volunteers. The idea of being a professional soldier, not a mercenary (IE: it simply isn't done for the money), has always appealed to me. It's a shame that South Africa isn't like it was before 1994. I think I would have enjoyed living there.
Edit: Here is the man I was talking about. Found him again on the page for foreign volunteers in the Croatian War for Independence.
Thank you again Stormraaf, the video gave me goosebumps. I served in the SADF, and even today, I look back as being a serviceman with pride. No one can take away what we have achieved. Foreign men were always welcome in the SADF, I personally served with British members who were proud to serve South Africa in the SADF. Even if we came from a history of no love lost, we served together against a common enemy. As we say in Afrikaans....Eendrag maak mag
Hallo Reich des Waldes,
es ist wirklich toll ein Deutscher zu sehe, der interesse an die alte Suedafrikanische Wehrmacht (oder Weermag, Defence Force) hat.
With regards to your query on foreign volunteers L.J. Bothma's book Buffalo Battalion – A tale of sacrifice, which is a firsthand account of the actions and history of the most active SADF combat (as well as reconnaissance) Battalion during the Border War, contains many such examples like a Australian who fought in Vietnam, joined the Rhodesian Light Infantry thereafter and then ended up with 32 (or Buffalo) Battalion, there are also examples of South Africans joining the RLI and even a German who served with 32 Battalion. I don't know much about the American you speak of; do you perhaps know his name and branch/unit he served in?
Like Rooikat my father served in the SADF, he was an Artillery Sergeant who took part in many operations such as Moscow and Vietnam in addition to guarding white areas during the unrest of the late 1970's, he still speaks fondly of his service days and says it made a true man of him. Like yourself I too wish I could have been born twenty or so years earlier to take part in this noble struggle and I would have considered a German fighting by my side as a great honour. So too do I hope that I and other colonial Germanics would have been accepted to serve alongside Germans during both World Wars. Afrikaner sympathy towards these struggles exhibited itself in the rebellion by the Boer War Generals of 1914 and Afrikaner neutrality feelings and sabotage of the Allied war effort by the Ossewabrandwag (a NS organization) from 1939 onward.
The Border War era also has its darker side as most of SA's essential military equipment where of primarily British/French/Israeli design and supplied directly by Israel in most instances, although we improved these greatly (Mirages, Galil assault rifles, Centurion Tanks, also mine proof 'Buffel' Unimogs) and came up with our own inventions such as the popular South African Assault Vest (which is made in Flecktarn, DPM, ACU and many more camouflages) and the Rooivalk combat helicopter, G5 + G6 howitzers, Ratel APCs, Valkiri MRLS etc. Many officers also underwent training with the IDF as Bothma's book clearly testifies. I must also point out the sad fact of the arms embargo on us which the BRD took part in and the presence of DDR military Kommissars in advisory roles amongst the marxist MPLA and SWAPO.
The life of the professional soldier also appeals to me to a large extent but unfortunately, in our current situation, none of today's national armies in the world is worth serving in anymore.
Dankie vir die video Stormraaf, dit is net so inspireerend soos jou signiture.
The link RdW provided is of Robert C. McKenzeie, and includes the following:Originally Posted by Wikingsdonner
... before going to Vietnam where he was hit by a bullet storming Mother's Day Hill. After a year in hospital he was medically retired, 70% disabled. All his life Robert had wanted to be a soldier so undeterred, in 1970 he travelled to Rhodesia and passed selection for the Rhodesian SAS. [...] With the end of the war there Robert joined the South African Defence Force where he was appointed second-in-command of the Transkei Special Forces regiment.
Thanks for the information and support Wikingsdonner. I have to agree with your statement that most, if not all, modern armies are not worth serving. Too many men join armies now with the idea other than combat. I would love to train with various ordnance, study and deploy squad tactics, construction and demolition, land navigation by day and night... but the negatives of the modern army outweigh the positive aspect. While all soldiers who experience combat together share a unique bond, I do not think it would be the same as the soldiers in the SADF, Rhodesian SAS, or the traditional Wehrmacht/Waffen SS. Soldiers united by culture and blood. Now it's the token black guy or the redneck with a 6th grade education that joins the army because they have no other options.
I would drop everything I am doing right now to join a military force that is ethnically and culturally homogeneous. Having comrades-in-arms that one can actually relate to and have that trust and bond which only soldiers share. I read about the Frankish army at the battle of Tours, or Otto der Grosse and the battle of Lechfeld, or repelling the Turks at the siege of Vienna, or Henry V by Shakespeare and I long to be apart of a military action.
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition; - St. Crispen's Day Speech
I don't know much about "volunteers" but there were certainly a lot of ex-UK military people in the SADF. Here's the story of one of them, it's a good read.
http://www.geocities.com/odjobman/nomean.htm
I find the whole South African state of affairs very saddening.
There we had a small community of what would be now labelled 'economic migrants'.
But, in their Founding Fathers' case they actually transformed and lifted the backside of the world into a decent society, which was on the same par as any European land, maybe even higher.
Why, oh why, oh why, didn't the SA Government go rushing to complete their nuclear program?
With the nuclear deterrent in place, Apartheid would have been safe!
Fast forward to 2009...
The Dream is over... IMO you should all return to Mother Europe.Africa will return to its fundamental state of 'the Law of the Jungle'.
It had a better standard of living than much of Western Europe until around the 1980's (provided one had the right credentials, lol)
The program was fairly "complete". Sure, it could have been improved over time but SA had the nukes and were working on the delivery systems as well. (Ballistic missiles).Why, oh why, oh why, didn't the SA Government go rushing to complete their nuclear program?
Apartheid was safe but how does one defend one's self against treachery from within one's own ruling establishment? The National Party leadership betrayed SA, probably for a few bags of Soros silver.With the nuclear deterrent in place, Apartheid would have been safe!
Until the main sponsors and friends of the ANC namely the EU, USA and NATO together with their Zionist controllers collapses you're probably right, things will continue to look bleak for white South Africans in SA.Fast forward to 2009...
The Dream is over... IMO you should all return to Mother Europe.
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