An Unpopular War: From afkak to bosbefok. Voices of South African National Servicemen, by J. H. Thompson

This is an excerpt from An Unpopular War: From afkak to bosbefok. Voices of South African National Servicemen, by J. H. Thompson. Publisher: Struik Publishers. Imprint: Zebra Press. Cape Town, South Africa 2006. ISBN 9781770073012 / ISBN 978-1-77-007301-2

An Unpopular War: From afkak to bosbefok. Voices of South African National Servicemen by J. H. Thompson. History is not another name for the past, as many people imply. It is the name for stories about the past.

Contact

Running in lines from east to west were kaplyne. These were long sandy 'roads' stretching for miles, which were impossible to cross without leaving a sign. There were no overhanging trees, no rocks, no branches, no patches of grass, nothing - just sand. They lay in a band between the Border and just north of the farming areas, likeTsumeb, and often ran between farming fences. The army used a Buffel to drag a tree so that the kaplyne were swept clear daily and we could check for fresh spoor. We could easily spot any tracks from terrs who might have crossed the kaplyn the night before. It was impossible to cross these stretches of swept sand without leaving a trace. Bushmen trackers from 101 and SWA Territorial Forces used to sit on the front of the Buffel looking for signs of a crossing or mine-laying activity. Usually the terrs would cross into South West in large groups of anything from 50 to 200 guys and then they would bombshell into smaller groups, as few as three or five. The trick was to catch them when the group was still large. And these guys would run - not walk, but run. Sometimes Intel would be given information and we would know when to expect a crossing and from which base in Angola the guys were coming. These guys were skinny guys and carried minimum dry rats: a few tins of Russian tuna and some mielie meal. But they came in carrying as much kit as they could: Black Widows, cheese mines, RPGs, RPDs, ammo, and they all had AK-47s. Some were given a few South African rands. My clearest memories are of the first few contacts we had inside South West. I recall these SWAPO incursions more than our ops into Angola. We were spending our time doing patrols with little purpose really, just walking from A to B and making ourselves visible to the locals. We were based not far north of Oshivelo, and that evening we were given the opportunity to travel toTsumeb for a Geraldine concert. She was a corny country and western singer who was a big hit with the troops. I think one other songs was 'Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk'. Anyway, about 150 of us are sitting in the dark, watching the show, when the lights go on and we're told there's been an insurgency and everyone must get back to their vehicles immediately. We leave Geraldine and her blue jeans behind and head off for one of the kaplyne. We are to form a stopper group on a fence line just off to the south of one of the kaplyne. We form a long line of guys, about five to ten metres apart. There are also these large observation towers and the guys in them have night-vision equipment. It's pitch dark and completely silent. Nothing happens. We see no one. The next morning we are back in Ratels, about 12 of them in Alpha Company. We check out an area further west down the kaplyn from where we had been the night before. The trackers pick up where terrs had crossed. They all wore Russian boots with very distinctive spoor: a couple of V-shaped notches facing the front of the boot. I'm sitting on the front of the Ratel, and E, a guy from the Eastern Cape, is walking around looking at where the guys had come through the fence and crossed the line. He shouldn't have been there, on the ground, walking around. There was this boom and smoke and dust as he stepped on a Black Widow. I was sprayed with sand and he collapsed with one leg blown off. We couldn't find any part of his leg, only a corner from the back of his boot. The wound wasn't bleeding much. The edges were ragged and partly sealed from the heat of the blast. He was lying there, conscious but completely quiet. No screaming or shouting.  [...]

This is an excerpt from An Unpopular War: From afkak to bosbefok. Voices of South African National Servicemen, by J. H. Thompson.

Title: An Unpopular War
Subtitle: From afkak to bosbefok. Voices of South African National Servicemen
Author: J. H. Thompson
Publisher: Struik Publishers
Imprint: Zebra Press
Cape Town, South Africa 2006
ISBN 9781770073012 / ISBN 978-1-77-007301-2
Paperback, 15 x 23 cm, 256 pages