Annual Memorial Service at AFB Ysterplaat
Date: 22 May 2009
By Dean Wingrin
AFB Ysterplaat held its annual Air Force Memorial Service today in which the airforce recalls the memory of thousands of its members who gave their lives in service for their country in times of war and in times of peace.
While the main memorial service is observed yearly at the Air Force Memorial on Bays Hill outside Pretoria, each airforce base also holds a memorial service. During the service, the SAAF, next of kin and various veteran organisations laid wreaths.
Brig Gen SS Mokwena laid a wreath on behalf of the Chief of the South African Air Force, while Councillor B Le Roux and Councillor J Vos presented a wreath on behalf of the City of Cape Town.
The Air Force Memorial Service has a history of 60 years to date. The first service was held in May 1950 and since then was annually observed with the exception of 1961 when South Africa became a Republic.
The Air Force Memorial in Pretoria commemorates those who had died while serving in the former statutory and non-statutory forces that form the present Air Force and those who still will bring the supreme sacrifice. It serves as a grave for those who were buried in foreign countries and those for whom no grave exists.
