The Story of Omar.

OMAR

1 August 1974

Portuguese military base somewhere in the North of Mozambique

While this Blog was set up to celebrate those men and women who may have been forgotten by history I came across this information while researching a certain period of Mozambican history that has all but been forgotten. While this episode may not be Portugal’s Military finest moment, in fact Giancarlo Coccia in his book “The Scorpion Sting” described it as Portugal’s darkest hour militarily, and while the men involved could not be described as Warriors per say, I think that it’s a story that is interesting and worth posting, I hope you agree.

The story of Omar was the culmination of the MFA’s campaign to destroy Portugal’s fighting capabilities in the 3 Colonies of Angola, Guine-Bissau and Mozambique.

While researching Daniel Roxo’s reasons for wanting to leave Mozambique in 1974, I was sent 4 pages from a book called “Fuelling the War  - revealing an oil companies role in the Vietnam war”. Apart from sympathising with the plight of the refugees or the staff of American companies that were so callously left to the mercy of the NVA (many would be jailed or shot out of hand),1 particular passage stood out at me “Since the fall of Ban Mae Thuot and the botched withdrawal of General Phu from Plieku the hopelessness of further resistance had become apparent to the lowest soldier. When the final attack came, even  the elite divisions had rapidly disintegrated, like Napoleon´s Imperial Guard at Waterloo when they realized the overall hopelessness of the position.

There are some similarities regards the “capitulation” of Mozambique to Frelimo by the Communist inspired MFA and the last days of Vietnam with the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese Forces taking place on 31 April 1975. Probably the biggest  similarity being the conscripts in Mozambique seeing the hopelessness of further resistance and with many not wanting to be fighting in what many considered a foreign country, it’s not surprising.  That moment probably came when they saw Mario Soares embracing Samora Machel on Lusaka on June 5, 1974. The photo was published in every newspaper in Mozambique and what it said to the Portuguese conscript was................................... “The war is over”.

The Portuguese elite Forces such as the Paras, Commandos, Marines, GEP's, Roxo militia and many GE’s, (not all), never disintegrated and until September were ready to fight on. Only Portuguese National Servicemen stopped all fighting from June 20 1974. The GEs after Omar also started to fall apart in many places, especially after Brigadier Melo Egidio (ex-Vila Cabral Governor) told the local GE’s based in Mocimboa da Praia to “Look for Frelimo and make peace with them”.

This instruction from Brigadier Egidio, was the MFA trying to avoid the Portuguese war in Africa. If you look at Scorpion Sting page 92/93 of the English version, General Orlando Barbosa told author Giancarlo Coccia : ........."Things were not so bad and the withdrawal of the troops was proceeding as planned”..........This was on Friday August 9, 1974 but  Giancarlo Coccia did not say that the General told him:"... except for Omar all withdrawal of troops was proceeding as planned". In the new Portuguese version, the full sentence is there. While the GE’s were being encouraged to make peace with Frelimo, at Montepuez the headquarters of the Mozambican Commandos, there Commander Major Freitas gave 3 Commandos born in Mozambique a 5 day jail sentence, their crime was that they had made contact with Frelimo and asked for peace. This is a  good example of a Commander who stood up to the  MFA’s vision of handing over Mozambique to Frelimo.

While the Omar incident occurred on 1 August 1974 we can probably trace the root cause to this unsavoury incident to mid 1973, when Lieut Colonel Pires Veloso, Chief of staff of the Cabo Delgado sector with its Headquarters in Porto Amelia. Veloso asked permission from his Commander, Brigadier Damiao to visit all the units  in their sector, the reason he gave, was to test the morale of the troops. The Brigadier was not happy with this request and told Veloso that all information he collected he would have to report back to him and also present him with a copy of the final report.

Veloso did what his Commander asked, but left out some information and only allowed “selected facts” for the eyes of a limited number of fellow PF members in both Porto Amelia as well as Nampula.

The areas that Veloso visited amongst others where Mueda, Mocimboa do Rovuma, Nazombe, Nangade, Mocimboa da Praia, Palma, Montepuez. At the camps he visited Veloso spoke mainly about the political situation in Portugal , its affect on the   war in Mozambique as well as Angola and Guine – Bissau.  After his return to Porto Amelia, Veloso together with Major Mario Tome  who was General Arriaga’s ADC (to become a big MFA supporter)  who was stationed at Nampula Headquarters drafted and circulated a document  that was to be signed by every Military Academy Officer doing duty in Mozambique, the purpose being that it would be  taken to Lisbon and delivered by hand to members of the future MFA.

On page 15/16 of the Scorpion Sting one reads “As soon as we were installed at our hotel, I telephoned the local Military Chief, Colonel Veloso to thank him for putting a plane at our disposal”. This after Giancarlo and his brother Emelio had been told to leave Nangade by a Colonel Delfim, they then flew to Porto Amelia.

“It was no problem, he said. For you I did it gladly. Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow. ‘under the circumstances it surprised me that the Colonel was so friendly. He must have been surprised to, for an hour later he phoned to cancel the appointment , with a hint of strain in his voice”  

The cancellation came about due to pressure from fellow MFA aligned officers in Porto Amelia after Veloso had advised them he had invited Giancarlo and his brother to lunch, the brothers were seen  to have the political ideals  that were contrary to the present Portuguese policy. Why people like Veloso joined the MFA, I have no idea I suppose that every person had his own reason/s some like Major Tome believed that Frelimo were the only party that should represent the people of Mozambique while others believed that Frelimo should be part of a election process in Mozambique before independence.

A lesser known fact is that in November 1975 after the chaos of Angola’s independence Major Tome was arrested in Porto under the orders of Veloso, his crime ? Well it would seem that he was Pro MPLA, I know, it makes no sense but perhaps this just shows the circus that the MFA really were.

On June 9 1974, two weeks after the Lisbon coup, Veloso was recalled to Portugal to be appointed as Governor of the Portuguese islands of Sao Tome e Principe in the West coast of Africa. This was reward for the “good work” he had performed in Mozambique and in his memoirs : “Vice-Rei do Norte/ “Vice – King of the North of Portugal” published in 2008 he made the following  comment  (pages 108/109).

“Recordo –me que, em Mocimboa do Rovuma, onde estava a sede de um Batalhao de Cavalria, um Major Juglo que o 2 Commandante, me disse que nao concordava, recusando-se a assinar os documentos. Aceitei perfeitamente a recusa, e nunca mais o abordei sobre o assunto, deixando – o em paz com as suas ideias”/ “I remember that in Mocimboa do Rovuma, at the Headquaters of a Cavalry Battalion, a Major, I think he was the second in Command. Told me that he did not agree with what was in the documents and declined to put his signature to the papers. I accepted his decision and never said anything about the matter to him again. I left him with his ideas”.

So who was this officer that Veloso was writing about. Well at Mocimboa do Rovuma the Cavalry Battlaion based there was under the command of Lieutenant – Colonel Antonio Manuel da Palma Baracho with a Major Carlos Campos as his 2^nd in command. They both arrived in Mozambique shortly after the 1972 Munich  Olympic games to start their 5^th and final tour of duty in Africa. Major Campos was undoubtedly one of Portugal’s finest horse riders and had competed in  the Olympics in the Show jumping discipline.

Having served 3 tours of duty in Guine - Bissau as well as  Angola and having been in Mozambique on a tour of duty prior to arriving for his 2^nd tour in October 1972 , Major Campo was seen a combat experienced and well respected officer, however after the MFA took control of the Portuguese military, honourable and principled men like Major Campos were overlooked for further promotion in the army hierarchy but those that had furthered the MFA’s political agenda were rewarded and Veloso is today a retired General.

The Battalion at Mocimboa do Rovuma had 630 men but like all the other units in Africa after 1972, very few had a core of experienced professional men who had attended Military school in  Lisbon. At the end of Portugal’s wars in Africa they had 230 000 men in the field, however less than 1% of the men serving were permanent force members. In Mozambique from 1972-1974 out of 90 fighting companies the Portuguese only had 5 permanent force (Military Academy) Captains. The rest of the officers, junior officers, corporals were National servicemen on  2 year’s tour of duty.

At Mocimboa do Rovuma  there were only 6 experienced officers, those being Colonel Baracho, Major Campos and 4 professional sergeants, each having a Company to control. Amazingly enough There was not one single experienced soldier that had seen war before arriving in Cabo Delgado. Hard to believe that 4 Sergeants and two Officers could control 624 men, all conscripts from Portugal, with four months of training in Europe posted to the Tanzania Border  that was seen as a 100% warzone and on one of the main routes from their rear bases in Tanzania and to make things more interesting each of the bases were totally isolated from the others. Omar especially was like an island and the only way to re-supply the company based there was by air, Omar also happened to be the closest military base to Tanzania’s border than any other in Cabo Delgado. 

The Battalions 4 Companies were posted to Mocímboa do Rovuma, Nazombe, Negomano with the last one being sent to Omar. Prior to the Omar incident occurring the Commanders of Battalions had received instructions from General Staff HQ in Nampula that they should remove the small outposts like Omar to the HQ of their respective Battalions. Omar was to move to Mocimboa do Rovuma  and the one at Nazombe was to move to Muede, these relocation's were to take place in August.

This “unconditional surrender” of Omar is an interesting story that has only recently seen the light of day with the publishing of the updated Portuguese version of “Scorpion Sting, first published in 1976. Omar was for all intensive purposes the end of the war for the Portuguese. History books tell us that the official end of the war between Portugal and Frelimo was 00:00 hours September 8 1974, signed in Lusaka – Zambia. The MFA however had declared an “unofficial” end of the war for 31 July 1974, a radio signal from Nampula sent by the MFA on the normal Military channels was “All troops must make their own peace accords with Frelimo at local level”.  

Omar as mentioned was manned by a company of 147 men from the Battalion based at  Mocimbao do Rovuma as well as a detachment of 31 men  from Namgade, who were manning artillery pieces on loan from South Africa. Frelimo on the other hand had over 250 armed men and about 900 members of the local population with them.

Omar was Company 1 C/Cav. 8421/73 under the command of Captain Miliciano “graduado”, this means that he was a conscript Lieutenant that had rank of temporary Captain. He was not at Omar at the time of the incident as he was on sick leave and had been replaced by a 22 year old conscript Jose Carlos Monteiro. Jose had been trained in Boane near to LM and had no combat experience whatsoever. This many, myself included believe was a deliberate ploy by the MFA to destroy the machine that had been fighting the war since 1961.

Not only that, we tend to forget that Portugal was a member of NATO an organization that had been established to counter the threat of Communism, the very people the MFA were intending to hand the colonies over too via the PAIGC, MPLA and Frelimo . Of the 162 men taken prisoner only 157 arrived in Tanzania due to 5 men managing to escape and make their way back to Namgade on August 3, 4 and 5. Interestingly enough none of these men who risked their lives to escape were ever decorated for their bravery, the MFA would not allow it, probably because they did not like the fact that those 5 men had done their duty against the MFA’s new friends, Frelimo. “Shameful indeed”.

I was sent a newspaper clipping from 2004 in which Lieutenant Monteiro was interviewed, strangely enough the only one ever regards this embarrassing day in Portuguese military history and  was asked  if he would have done the same thing again, if he was in the same circumstances? His answer was  an unequivocal “yes”.

On 22 July 1974 the MFA had a meeting in Nampula and afterwards sent a long message to MFA-Lisbon saying the following “If you don’t organize and immediate ceasefire with Frelimo by July 31, we MFA-Mozambique will initiate one on the ground”, which they did by means of a radio broadcast as mentioned earlier.

After Omar, which was a staged surrender and many believe a stunt to demoralize  any men in the field who may still have had some fighting spirit left, the MFA issued a general order that all smaller bases had to be closed and the men withdrawn to their Battalion Headquarters. This withdrawal was to start on August 1^st and be completed by August 20. This order was obviously to remove any barriers that may have caused Frelimo any inconvenience.

Daniel was requested by Army Headquarters in Nampula to assist in removing those Portuguese companies  in the far north of Niassa to Vila Cabral. So Daniel and his men probably totalling no more than 90 - 100 at the time being asked to protect well armed regular Portuguese conscripts  is actually  laughable, but the MFA may have had another motive for asking Daniel to do so. Having been a thorn in the side of Frelimo since 1964, Daniel who had a large reward “dead or alive “ on his head would have been a sitting duck for Frelimo to kill or capture.

Daniel probably realized that this request was a trap and an easy way for he and his men to get killed. Daniel and his men where phantoms, shadows, Frelimo never knew were they would come from or where they would go and now they would all be together in 1 area, the dates and times of the withdrawal would be broadcast to all and sundry by both bush telegraph as well as “official channels” Daniel had not survived 10 years of fighting against Frelimo to be handed to

them on a silver platter, he was cleverer than that, Daniel  respectfully declined the request.  

  

Interestingly enough a high ranking SADF General who had paid a courtesy visit to Mozambique in mid July 1974 and had been given a tour of certain facilities understood that the Portuguese Armed Forces under the control of the MFA in Nampula, had  all but given up the war.  He was of the opinion that It was a matter of days, not months, that the war would stop from the Portuguese side. Omar had received radio instructions from headquarters to make local peace accord with Frelimo. The Commandos would never have surrendered to Frelimo. But these “civilians in uniform” did not even make a plan to defend the camp. It’s obvious to me that Frelimo had prior information about the state of mind of these as well as other conscript soldiers from Portugal who believed that “this was not there war or their land to defend”.

It’s also generally assumed that a follow up operation was conducted after the capitulation of Omar to rescue  the men that had been taken prisoner by Frelimo and were being marched to Tanzania to be put on display, this never happened because a message from Lisbon to military headquarters read “Men in good hands, safe under Frelimo control” , further proof that the MFA dominated Portuguese forces had decided to hand Mozambique over to Frelimo on a silver platter. The order to bomb Omar with Nalpalm was only given by General Diego Neto days after the Portuguese soldiers had arrived in Nashingwea (Tanzania) Military base.

Another interesting piece of information that I came across was that a journalist that worked for the Observer of London who also happened to be a pro- Frelimo sympathiser reported about the incident at Omar the very same day it happened, indicating to me that  he was in the know about  the MFA/Frelimo’s plans. 

Stephen Dunkley

31/3/2013

"The photos of bases and Portuguese soldiers used for this Blog where sourced from the Internet". 

We honour the fallen,

Daniel Roxo part 7

WE HONOUR THE FALLEN

“There comes a time in every great warriors life when he has earned the right to lay down his armour and go home”

After Paul Els and I had found the resting place of Daniel, Ponciano and Jose at the cemetery I think it’s safe to say we both had the same thought in mind. “How is it possible for men such as Daniel, Jose and Ponciano who had died in the defence of South Africa not to have a headstone indicating their last resting place” We discussed it on the way back to Pauls house and over a cup of coffee agreed this was totally unacceptable and with Pauls usual tenacity he soon after that conversation put the wheels in motion to collect monies so a headstone could be purchased and erected.

Paul drew Manuel Ferriera into the project and I have to say that the work and effort they both put in was the reason for this initiative being so successful. E-mails where sent, phone calls made and before long enough monies had been collected for Paul to arrange the making of the headstone, its design and wording was a collaboration between Paul, Manuel and myself and I believe that it does justice to those 3 brave men. All that was needed now was to set a date for the unveiling and arrange invitations as well as the program, this again wonderfully taken in hand by Paul and Manuel.     

  

On the 23^rd of August 2005, 29 years to the day that Daniel and Ponciano where killed 60 friends, Portuguese community representatives and ex comrades in arms gathered at the new military cemetery at Thaba Tswane, (Voortrekkerhoogte) to pay their respects and to mark the last resting place of Staff Sergeant Daniel Francisco Roxo, Sergeant Ponciano G Soeiro and Sergeant Jose Correia Pinto Ribeiro. The Homage started with a short service by Special Forces Chaplain D.S Hugo as well as Father Gilberto Teixeira. Sybie van der Spuy the outgoing Chairman of the Special Forces league said a few words on behalf of the Special Forces League as did Barry Roper who was asked to do so on behalf of the 32 Battalion Association with Adelino Pires saying a few words on behalf of the Portuguese community.

To the haunting sound of the Last Post, Major General Fritz Loots unveiled the headstone and thereafter wreaths where laid by General Nel, Barry Roper, Mrs Margarida Oliviera, Adelino Pires and his wife Fiona as well as Paul Els, Manuel Ferreira and myself. All present where then invited to pay their respects while a lone piper played. The Homage ceremony was both dignified and a fitting way to say Goodbye to Daniel, Jose and Ponciano and as Adelino Pires pointed out in his speech “Finally honour is being paid to these 3 valiant men who have been spared the ignominy of an unmarked grave. Now Roxo, Soeiro and Ribiero can rest in peace, they will never be forgotten” Manuel soon after set up a webpage (http://sadf.sentinelprojects.com/sasfl/roxmed.html) so that those who had been unable to attend due to distance or prior commitments could see the events of that day. The service was reported in a number of local as well as Overseas media services as listed below.

  Beeld (24/8/2005)

·         Correio da Manah (Lisbon daily paper)(24/8/2005)

·         Citizen “Voz Portuguesa”  (3/9/2005)

·         Seculado (28^th and 29^th /8/2005)

·         Rekord (9/9/2005)

·         Independente (9/9/2005)

·         Portuguese state TV (22/9/05)

·         Soldier of Fortune (December issue 2005)

·         Macau News .com (3/12/2005)

·         Citizen “Voz Portuguesa”

·         Mais Alto (Portuguese Air Force magazine)

On the whole the coverage of the memorial service was well balanced and unbiased the only exception was the Portuguese newspaper the “Independente” who stated the following “The Portuguese ambassador in SA had paid homage to 3 mercenaries that had worked for the Apartheid regime”.

 A few of those who attended the memorial service had the following to say afterwards in E - mails to ourselves as well as other military orientated sites.

·   “Good afternoon gents, I would just like to congratulate you on a excellent job done. I do not know if words can describe what you have accomplished and what it must mean to the families of our fallen colleagues”

·     “Once again my heartfelt congratulations to you and the team on a splendid job. I have no doubt you all will be blessed by your thoughtful actions”

·         “I would like to thank the 3 of you very much for giving me the honour of being able to make a speech at yesterday’s ceremony. You have no idea how it felt for me personally to be able to stand at Daniel’s, Robbie’s and Silva’s grave and be able to salute and pay tribute to 3 very brave and honourable men”

·         “Hope younger guys will remember the contribution towards peace by these brave and dedicated soldiers and not only these 3, but all that died and their bodies never came back because of their origin”

·         In the programme aired by the Portuguese state TV they stated that the men and women who initiated and attended the memorial service “did not have short memories”

My two amigos Manuel and Paul 

As for myself, it is a day that I, as I am sure all who were present will never forget and I was privileged to have played a small part in ensuring that these three men will be remembered, the main role players in ensuring that this day was the success it was from co-ordinating the donations received to ensuring that all was ready on the day were, Mr. Paul Els and Mr. Manuel Ferreira, they deserve all the praise and I am extremely proud to call them friends.  

Carla Ribeiro and Manuel Ferreira

On 30 August 2006 we again gathered at Voortrekkerhoogte to mark the 30^th Anniversary of the death of S Sgt Daniel Roxo (HC), S Sgt Ponciano Soeiro and Sgt Jose Ribeiro to pay tribute. General Swart paid a moving tribute to our fallen comrades and handed over to Carla Ribeiro her father’s operators badge and S Sgt Mourao da costa Operators badge to Mrs da Costa. Daniels operator badge was received by myself on behalf of his brother Alipio. S Sgt Soeiro’s badge will be kept in the Special Forces museum until his family can be traced.  It was at this ceremony that I had the pleasure of meeting Carla ……………….Jose Ribeiro’s daughter who had flown out from London to attend the ceremony and to receive her father’s Operators insignia, as well as Mrs Erna da Costa, wife of Mauro da Costa who told me that her husband had been very fond of Daniel and had mourned deeply for him when he heard of his death he commented that “The South African defence force had lost its best soldier ever”.

Ds Hugo was again Master of ceremonies and wreaths were laid by WO1 Pearce on behalf of the Infantry association, Major W van Deventer Special Forces League, General K Greef on behalf of the 32 Battalion Association, WO1 K Moorcroft on behalf of Pretoria Moth. Manuel, Paul and myself on behalf of family and friends. Colonel Allen Young* read the citations and WO1 Koos Moorcroft recited the Moth prayer. Paul came up with the idea to lay a white rose at nearby graves of Special Forces as well as Parabat Regiment soldiers. It was another special day, especially for family members who attended.

Carlos Ribeiro who was killed during a contact between Luenge and Coutada du Mucusso on or around 16 - 19 August 1976, Carlos was driving a vehicle transporting explosives and the vehicle he was driving was hit during an ambush by an RPG rocket, his body was never recovered, Paul, Manuel and myself had an idea that we needed to also ensure the he had a place where his name is written and would not be forgotten.

Mrs. Adelino pires, Neves Matais and Manuel Ferreira  

Paul as normal came up with the idea of adding a small memorial/headstone to the original one erected 2 years previously, so on 29 August 2007 a number of people gathered to unveil this headstone. The Special Forces flag covering the stonework was unveiled by Mr. Neves Matias, a highly decorated Special Forces operator. A wreath was laid by a member of the Portuguese military community and all those present placed a white rose at the graveside.

Due to the sudden death of General Loots on 12 August 2008, it was decided not to go ahead with the annual homage ceremony at the grave site of Daniel, Ponciano, Silva and so Paul Els, Manuel Ferreira and Manuel Pestana pai paid a private visit to the graveyard and laid flowers on the grave.

Adelino Pires and Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke Jr paid the cemetery a visit on 13 July 2009. Mr. Duke and his wife Dolly  had hunted in Mozambique with Adelino at the time Jose “Carnaval” Ribeiro was part of special unit that was attached to Mr Pires’s hunting company. Mr. Duke was kind enough to send Manuel a photo with the following inscription “ To Manuel Ferreira a salute to you. All best wishes Charlie Duke, Apollo 16”

.

Paul has also over the years preceding 2005 at his own initiative and time has put flowers on the grave, as well as laid wreaths for Daniel, Ponciano, Jose and Carlos at various occasions or functions, for this Paul............................ “I salute you”.

Daniels name and those of his friends and comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice for South Africa are engraved on the walls of remembrance at

• Fort Klapperkop just outside Pretoria
• The Airborne wall at the Imperial war museum in Gauteng
• Voortrekker Monument Freedom Park wall of remembrance

Daniels name appears on the South African Special Forces Roll of Honour as well as the South African Parabat Roll of Honour and until recently (December 2012) on the 32 Battalion Roll of Honour. To my, as well as many others disappointment, Daniel’s as well as Jose Ribeiro, Carlo Ribeiro and Ponciano Soeiro’s names were removed, why it was done will be covered in full in my upcoming book “Phantom of the Forest”.

    

It’s astonishing to think that this man who was such a legend could be forgotten so quickly by his own people. Daniels name and his exploits have become ancient history and he is only remembered by a few Portuguese friends and comrades with whom he fought  Angola.  At the Belem wall in Lisbon you will find the names of some 10 000 Portuguese security forces that died fighting on Portuguese soil between 1961 and 1975, but not Daniel’s, Jose’s, Carlos’s, Ponciano’s, Mauro’s or numerous Portuguese men who fought for Portugal and later died fighting for South Africa or Rhodesia, this I believe to be a travesty, one that needs to be remedied.

Researching Daniels life over the last 8 years has been a journey of discovery (one I believe that has as yet not ended). This journey has brought me into contact with so many interesting people, its allowed me to meet people who I don’t consider friends, I think of them as family, I have learnt so much about Portugal’s history in Africa and the reason when in std 8 we had an influx of Portuguese children into our school, it has shown me that the ordinary men and women can become hero's

"Can you lay your life down, so a stranger can live? Can you take what you need, but take less than you give ? Could you close every day without the glory and fame ? Could you hold your head high, when no one knows your name? That's how Legends are made, at least that's what they say"  ("Never give up", Bryan Adams)

Finally I have to thank Daniel Francisco Roxo and many others like him for sacrificing their lives so that I and my family could have a tomorrow.   

Daniel Roxo, Heroi, Portuguese e Sul Africano! Descana em paz camarada.

Stephen Dunkley

Port Elizabeth

24/3/2103

Gone but not forgotten.

S SGT ALMERINDO MOURÃO DA COSTA PMM

Almerindo Mourão da Costa, was born on the 19th August 1944, in a small village in the north of Portugal. After finishing school he joined the  Portuguese Secret Police PIDE/DGS and was posted to Angola where he  served with the FLECHAS until the Portuguese Left Wing coup of 25 April 1974 inspired by the MFA. Almerindo in February of 1975 like many other ex-military or DGS men joined the SADF. But unlike many of those men he, successfully completed the exhausting Special Forces selection course and became an Operator with 1 Reconnaissance Commando.

From August 1975, Mourão da Costa was deployed into Angola on deep special operations as part of Operation Savannah and as an instructor of Battle Group Bravo, later to become 32 Battalion. Mourão da Costa  who was an explosives expert became an instructor with the South African Special Forces.

In January 1980, S Sgt Mourão da Costa was awarded the PRO MERITO MEDAL for assuming control after the assault Commander was wounded during an operation against a enemy base. Through good leadership and determined action he pressed the attack through successfully. He played a leading role in re-organising the force and arranging for the evacuation of casualties. His performance was an exceptional example of meritorious service and devotion to duty.

Mourão da Costa was KIA on the 24th February of 1980 and Unlike the official SADF version, Almerindo Mourão da Costa was not killed 30kms inside Angola as a result of a land mine explosion. He  was killed in an African capital while on a mission to destroy an enemy target. His body was never recovered.

on 30 August 2006 a number of people gathered at Voortrekkerhoogte to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of  S Sgt Daniel Roxo (HC), S Sgt Ponciano Soeiro and Sgt Jose Ribeiro. General Swart paid a moving tribute to our fallen comrades including S Sgt Almerindo Mourão da Costa, who’s operators badge and certificate was handed over to Mrs. Erna da Costa who made mention to me that Almerindo had been very fond of Daniel and had mourned him deeply after his death, he said “The South African Defence Force had lost its best soldier ever”

Someday the true story regards Almerindo’s his contribution to the defence of South Africa and the circumstances of his death will be told, its men and women like Almerindo that this Blog was set up in the first place, they must never be forgotten.

Information sent by Mr Manuel Ferriera

22/3/2013

Daniel Roxo Part 6

“The death of a legend”

“No birth is an accident, No experience is without meaning and no life is without value”

O

ne thing that we know for a fact is that Francisco Daniel Roxo and Silva Soeiro died in or soon after a landmine explosion on the  23^rd of August 1976, with Jose Ribeiro being killed in a motor vehicle accident 2 days later one would have thought that soldiers of Daniel’s, Jose’s and Ponciano’s status would have been afforded a burial befitting war hero’s and a winner of the Honoris Crux, this however was not the case. When I first started researching Daniels life, one of the first pieces of information that I received, was that Daniel, Silva and possibly Jose had been buried in the same grave, in body bags with only a piece of corrugated iron or sheet metal separating their bodies.

This story as you can imagine had not endeared the SADF to the Portuguese community, who had many fathers and sons pay the ultimate price in the defence of South Africa. My first thought was one of “sour grapes” by the Portuguese community however this version I heard may not have been far from the truth. Initial information received also suggested that Daniel’s body had been exhumed and his body flown to Portugal to be laid to rest in Mogadouro.

Over the years numerous scenarios as to what happened to the bodies of Daniel, Ponciano as well as Jose after their deaths have come to the fore and to be honest I doubt we will ever know all of  the facts. Instead of just writing what I think is the truth I have decided to re-print the various accounts that I have received, give you my interpretation and let you make up your mind. I need to point out that I believe there is an element of truth in all the versions and do not believe that any of the people that provided information would deliberately want to mislead me in any way. “Time and fading memories can lead people to forget the specifics” and this I believe is the case regards Daniels and his comrades burial.    

This was the initial “Official” version I received of Daniel’s burial from a respected ex-  member of the SADF Special Forces and at the time (2004) without having done any research on the topic, it seemed the most plausible explanation. 

“Daniel died at the scene of the ambush, near Dirico and Ponciano who was thought to have died  on the scene actually died on his way back to Woodpecker base, from a crushed Skull and Internal injuries. Daniels and Ponciano’s bodies where then flown to Pretoria and where taken to 1 Military Hospital at Voortrekkerhoogte, they were not seen by an undertaker. 2 gravesites where arranged in the military cemetery at Voortrekkerhoogte and a funeral service for Daniel and Ponciano was held at the Roman Catholic church “Our lady Queen of peace” also situated in Voortrekkerhoogte (No records have been found despite numerous attempts by myself and Mr.Paul Els to obtain such records from the church itself).

From what we can piece together The service was conducted by a Roman Catholic priest. with a high ranking officer being present. A burial detachment from the Services school that had also been detailed to assist with the funeral. The coffins where placed on a  Long wheel based Land Rover and driven the four and half kilometres to the grave site/s. Two graves had been dug, however it seems that one of the graves had been covered with planks and the soil was placed on top of this, for whatever reason, only one was utilized and two men were buried in the one grave. No corrugated iron was used to separate the two coffins.

A good friend of mine Mr. Manuel Ferreira then found an article regards the controversy of Daniel’s burial in the “Retornado” newspaper (translates to “The one who returned”. People who left the colonies and moved back to Portugal after the Coups where given the derogatory name of Retornados) The article written on 3 May 1977 by Princess Sophie Mansyreff. It is highly likely the article was published in a local Portuguese newspaper, the “Seculo” prior to it being re-published in the Retornado.

   

The article was titled “ Vida e Morte de Daniel Roxo um Portugues Que Numca Traiu “Life and death of Daniel Roxo a Portuguese who never betrayed”

Princess Mansyreff wrote.

“To my astonishment and sadness it came to my knowledge that my personal friend and one of the greatest Portuguese, Daniel Roxo, who paid one of the biggest sacrifices for the survival of his country and defending as well the ideals of South- Africa, was buried in the cemetery of Voortrekkerhoogte without any reference and in an un-Christian way. I sincerely feel that we owe to his memory and to the memory of all who died with him, that the Portuguese community should not allow that one of its biggest patriots find his eternal rest with the poorest of the poor. I hope that you Portuguese follow my example and donate what you can so that a Tombstone be erected over his grave”.

I have been unable to locate Princess Mansyreff or to dig up any information on the proposed fund for a tombstone, what I can say with certainty is that no tombstone was ever erected until 23 of August 2005. I am also in possession of a leaflet advertising a Requiem Mass to be held on 7 November 1976 at 6pm at the Santa Maria Catholic Church Pretoria West – Pretoria. As to whether this mass actually went ahead or if anyone attended this mass I have no idea as I have been unable to come across any evidence that it was held or  anyone that may have attended. (Information that I received in early September 2013 indicates that the Princess died in Pretoria in 1997) 

The next person to provide information was another high ranking, ex – Special Forces member.

“Daniel Roxo along with Ponciano Soeiro and Jose Ribeiro where transported from South-West Africa to South Africa, where all three men were dumped in to one grave in the middle of the night like “road kill” or “Just like dogs” (To quote an angry member of the Portuguese community). The three men were not buried in coffins but in body bags. The “dumping” of the bodies was discovered by a member of the SADF, who did not believe that this was the way for South Africa to treat men who had fought bravely and died for their adopted land. An anonymous telephone call was made to the police, who then came to investigate the allegations and had the three bodies exhumed, due to the injuries on the bodies they felt that there had been foul play and where ready to take the matter further, however before this could happen, Major General Loots was contacted and he in turn called the security police and requested that the bodies be handed back to the Defence Force and taken to the Mortuary at 1 Military Hospital”.

Paul Els and I then decided to see what records we could find at the Church, 1 Military Hospital or at the Services school, that could perhaps confirm any of the above information. We were not able to get information at any of the 3 places but we did find 3 unmarked graves in the Voortrekkerhoogte military cemetery, that fitted in with the time frame of Daniels’s death and his subsequent burial.

We then decided to see if we could find any information at the General Services Brigade and asked for records on the burials at the cemetery over the period that Daniel was buried.  To our surprise we were given an old dusty ledger dating back to 1976. All the grave sites had numbers attached to them and next to the numbers were the names and force number of the persons buried there, all except for grave sites 898 and 899, here there were no force numbers or names, just a note that said “Verwys na Colonel Botes’ (Refer to Colonel Botes). Paul and I looked at each other and knew that one of these two graves is where Daniel and his comrades had been buried.

Grave 897 is dated 19/8/1976 and 901 is dated 13/9/1976 with 900 having the name Major Viljoen next to it in the register. So with these dates corresponding with the dates of Daniel, Ponciano and Jose’s deaths it made sense to Paul and I that we had found the unmarked grave of Daniel and Ponciano and possibly Jose. Attempts to verify if Colonel Botes was still alive where unsuccessful, however we are reasonably sure that he has passed away. We were also unable to obtain records from what was the then Services school, that could verify or deny whether the initial  version of events did or did not occur.

In April of 2012 new information came to the fore as to this mystery, this came about due to Paul Els requesting information on a military veterans website looking for clarity on who had in fact been buried and who had been exhumed.

A lady who had worked as a captain in the SADF personnel department  in 1976 sent Paul the following information. “Ek wou al vroeër reageer toe jy in ‘n berig navraag gedoen het oor die 2 Portugese se grafte. Ek het in 1976 as ‘n kaptein in die destydse personeelafdeling by Leër HK gewerk by die afdeling wat as Staande Mag Manskappe bekend gestaan het. My direkte senior was Maj Dave Kriel – later kolonel.  Op ‘n dag is  hy baie geheimsinnig by die kantoor weg. Toe hy later teruggekom het, het hy my vertel dat hy Voortrekkerhoogte begraafplaas toe is om toesig te hou oor die begrawe van 2 gesneuwelde Portugese soldate wat aan ons kant geveg het. Hy het my vertel dat alles onder groot geheimhouding geskied het en dat die proses en die grafte (natuurliik op daardie stadium) nie bekend gemaak mag word nie. Dave sou baie meer van die besondere dag kon vertel maar hy is natuurlik ook al oorlede.  Ons hoofklerk op daardie stadium was Willem Brits – wat ek glo nog leef en ek weet hy en Dave het baie nou saamgewerk”.

A brief translation is “My direct senior Major David Kriel – later Colonel on a certain day (date unknown) left the office very secretly and when he returned he informed me that he had been to the graveyard at Voortrekkerhoogte to ensure that two Portuguese men  who had fought for the SADF and had been killed were buried” he also indicated that the gravesite could not be made public due to the sensitivity and circumstances of their deaths”

Then  soon after and out of the blue this information was sent to Paul. “I have been away for a few days hence the late reply to your request about the info on Roxo's burial. The facts are as follows” (this information will be in a book that will be published later this year in Portugal).

Unfortunately I have not been able to find or access any official records regards the burial of Daniel, Ponciano and Jose from that era due to paperwork either having gone “missing” or been destroyed, nor has anyone come forward that may have attended the church service or subsequent funeral. After re checking the little information or documentation that I have received or been able to find,  the following is a version of what I feel  may have happened.

On 23 August 1976 Daniel died at the scene of the landmine blast with Ponciano (Silva) dying later that day from wounds sustained in the same blast. 2 days later on 25 August Jose (Robbie) was killed in a car accident near Rundu. Daniel and Ponciano  and possibly Jose were flown to Pretoria around  26 or 27 August, it’s possible that the bodies either lay in 1 Military hospital or a private mortuary for a day or two.

For whatever reason the two bodies “possibly 3” were then taken and buried in the dead of night by person/s in a freshly dug or possibly a shallow grave. This was reported to the SAP “it’s been suggested, by a member of the Special Forces who was disgusted at the way the burials had taken place” who then exhumed the bodies. Major General Loots* contacted the Security Police and ask them to transport the bodies to a private mortuary. It was at this stage that the Officer from Durban was contacted by Major General Loots to ensure that Daniel, Ponciano and possibly Jose were given a decent burial.

So the question that needs to be asked and I assume that you are also wondering is “What happened to Jose” is he buried at Voortrekkerhoogte or is he not?. Manuel believes that its possible Jose after his horrific accident was so mutilated that his remains or what was left could have been put in the casket with either Daniel or Silva, as Jose’s wife told him, “Jose is buried at VTH and was not exhumed”. Manuel is also of the opinion that they were not buried in South West Africa as a high ranking person or persons felt they should not be dumped in an unmarked grave.

So what is the truth? Who’s version of events does one believe?, which version makes the most sense? these are questions I have asked myself many times and probably will until concrete proof can be presented. Until that happens I will leave it up to you to make your own conclusions, but if you ever get the opportunity to visit the military cemetery at Voortrekkerhoogte be sure  to pay your respects to not only Daniel, Ponciano and Jose but to all the other brave men and women who paid the ultimate price in the defence of South Africa. 

Stephen Dunkley

Port Elizabeth

17/3/2013