Archive for December, 2010
How to obtain Military Documents in South Africa
To obtain access to this information, the members written permission is required, or if he/she is deceased, that of his/her next-of-kin. You are thus requested to submit the following documentation in order for your enquiry to proceed:
a). A certified copy of the requester’s identity document or passport.
b). A signed letter of permission from the member, if passed away.
c). A certified death certificate of member, if passed away
It the member has passed away, a signed letter of permission must be obtained from a living blood relative including proof of the identification.
The approximately 3 million personnel records in the Department of Defence Archives are indexed according to a specific convention. You are therefore requested to provide the Documentation Centre with as much detail as possible regarding the person you are seeking information on.
The following are guidelines:
a. Force number
b. Date of assumption of military service
c. Date of discharge from military service
d. Regiment/unit where the person served
e. Name and address of next-of-kin at the time of his attestation
Upon receipt of the required documentation, the matter will receive further attention.
This law now falls under the new Access to Information Act (Act 2 of 2000), certain restrictions have been placed upon the release of information to third parties.
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Obtaining Military Documents
Address:
Street: Documentation Centre of the SANDF
Department of Defence
Private Bag X289
PRETORIA
0001
Tel: +27 (012) 322 6350
Fax: +27 (011) 322 6360
Contact: Miss Louise Jooste
South African servicemen’s records from the Army, Navy and Air Force are held in these archives. Copies of service records can be obtained if a written application is made.
Access:
Accessibility is in accordance with the National Archives of South Africa Act (Act No. 43 of 1996) and in the case of classified documentation accessibility is subject to approval of the Chief of Defence Intelligence of the Department of Defence.
Brief history:
The Department of Defence Archives was established as the SA Defence Force (SADF) Archives on 14 May 1968 following the approval by the Minister of Education of a separate military archives. Prior to this date an organisation for the preservation of the archives of the SADF Archives and its predecessor, the Union Defence Force, did exist but it had no legal status. The SADF Archives had a twofold function, namely to preserve the military archives and to undertake military historical research and history writing. It was therefore decided to rename it the Military Historical and Archival Service (MHAS).
In response to the SADF’s requirements, the MHAS gradually developed into a documentation service and this resulted in another change of the name in October 1972. The organisation then became known as the Central Documentation Service. Sweeping changes to the SADF in 1974 resulted in the reference library service, including the Central Library, being integrated into the Central Documentation Service. This led to a change in the status of the organisation. On 1 February 1975 it became a directorate and was designated the Documentation Service Directorate. In 1982 the directorate’s functions were augmented considerably when the SADF’s museums and ethnology service were added to it. Its function then comprised the preservation and management of records and archives; research and history writing; the reference library service; the museum service; and the ethnology service. The organisation was named the Military Information Bureau.
Regrettably the Military Information Bureau was disestablished on 31 December 1986 and some of its functions were decentralized to the arms of service. Fortunately the nucleus, namely the SADF Archives and the Military History Section as well as the Central Library, was retained as the SADF Archives. Early in 1991 the SADF’s personnel records were added to the SADF Archives. This warranted the re-instatement of an organisation with directorate status and the SADF Archives became part of Documentation Service Directorate. Following the election in 1994, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was established through the integration of the former statutory and non-statutory forces. On 1 April 1999 the name and status of this organisation was once again changed to bring the organisation in line with the transformation process, it is now known as the Documentation Centre. The Documentation Centre continued its functions and its archival service section, now known as the Department of Defence Archives, is still the official custodian of the documentation of the Department of Defence, the SANDF and its predecessors dating from 1912.
Acquisitions policy:
Documentation Centre (Department of Defence Archive) is the custodian of the archives of the Department of Defence/SANDF since its inception in 1912 as the Union Defence Force. All records of offices of the Department of Defence are transferred to the Department of Defence Archives when they are ten years old or older.
Areas of specialisation: The Department of Defence Archives specializes in military history. It houses the official records of the Department of Defence as well as a collection of unique publications, unit history files, photographs, maps and pamphlets pertaining to the Department of Defence/SANDF and its predecessors dating from 1912. The Personnel Archives and Reserves (PAR) which also forms part of Documentation Centre, houses the personnel records of all former members of the SANDF and its predecessors. These personnel files are invaluable as a source for biographical details. Documentation Centre is also in possession of a collection of files pertaining to the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). It consists of applications by members of the South African Republican Forces during the 1920′s for the following medals: the “Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst Anglo-Boereoorlog”, the “De Zuidafrikaanse Republiek en Oranje Vrijstaat Oorlogsmedalje” and the “Lint voor Verwonding opgedaan gedurende de Anglo-Boereoorlog”.
Core holdings:
The Documentation Centre currently houses approximately two million files consisting of 1 607 different archival groups and approximately 250 680 personnel files. The most frequently consulted archival groups are as follows: Adjutant General. Chief of the General Staff. Commandant General. Director General Air Force. Divisional Documents. Naval Ships Logs. Chief of the Navy Ships Logs. Quartermaster General. Secretary for Defence. Union War Histories. Various War Diaries for the First and Second World Wars.
Finding aids:
The main finding aids used at Documentation Centre comprise of the List of Archives, inventories, indexes and a computer retrieval system. The List of Archives reflects the entire content of the repository. Information such as the name of the archival group, abbreviation, the extent of the group in terms of archive boxes, the location and security classification are provided. Inventories provide detailed information on the content of each archival group. The items are described individually according to the title of the file, the file reference, the dates and the box number. Card indexes are available for the book, manuscript and map collections. Approximately 120 000 documents are available on the computer retrieval system of which about 48 000 are photographs. This represents only a small portion of the total holdings.
Posted in 
Why Re-Enact?
It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If then, our
imitation is a confession, then let us explain the purpose
of it; let us delineate the mission of 3rd Platoon/Delta Company/2nd
Battalion/5th Cavalry Regiment (3/D/2-5 Airmobile), 1st Cavalry
Division, Airmobile (Reenactment).
Our mission is twofold. We are affiliated with the Pacific Northwest
Historical Group (PNWHG), which is well known for its first
class World War II reenactments and displays. On the outset and within a
very superficial level, this group of brothers exists to
host, exhibit and maintain the highest and most professional level of
Vietnam War reenactment and displays in the United States and
the World.
This is a lofty statement indeed! It is a goal that we have attained and
that we seek to uphold, maintain and even surpass as our
knowledge, abilities and collective resources grow ever deeper and wider.
How do we achieve this?
Look at our website. It speaks for itself. We are all young men, in the
prime of our lives, and we demand the best of our unit and
ourselves. We have a wealth of active duty and National Guard experience. We
seek to build a unit of young fighting men that we hope
will parallel the world that our fathers’ occupied so many, yet so few years
ago.
BUT, WHY DO WE DO IT?
Inevitably we are all asked this, sometimes with a great deal of hostility,
as though the question were an accusation and indictment
against us and the war that so divided our nation. This is the most
difficult question to answer, due to the varied responses that
it would invariably elicit from the men of 3/D/2-5 Airmobile (Reenactment).
Nevertheless, it is this answer that differentiates us
from gun toting wannabes with vintage uniforms; our sincere response to this
question provides the concrete foundation for our
mission and for what makes 3/D/2-5 Airmobile (Reenactment) special.
But first, we must answer a question with more questions.
How many Vietnam veterans will go to sleep tonight without having ever been
thanked for what they did? How many of those veterans
will be cursed with a short night’s sleep of 3-4 hours because a significant
part of them is still in the war?
How many of these men will go to their graves without the satisfaction of
knowing that someone appreciated what they saw, did and
sacrificed?
This is our mission. We exist to say “thank you” to the true fighting men
who fought and bled in Vietnam. They are our credentials.
The freedom they bought for us in a far off land is beyond any feeling of
gratitude that we can express. We cannot thank them
enough. By imitating them – by flattering them – 3/D/2-5 Airmobile
(Reenactment) hopes to understand in the best possible way what
the infantryman experienced. Vietnam was, essentially an infantryman’s war.
The grunt bore the brunt of the war on his shoulders,
and he bore the brunt of the criticism leveled against it by his peers. In
understanding, in preserving his memory and in keeping
their collective spirits alive, we hope to give any and every veteran of
Vietnam, and of the military during that time, a resounding
“THANK YOU” and “WELCOME HOME”!
We feel that understanding is best achieved through reenactment. We can
study books. We can acquire magnificent collections and we
can let our hearts bleed all we want for the veteran, but in reenactment, we
can attempt to comprehend through our own lives, in
isolated moments, what it meant to fight in Vietnam.
We make no pretenses about understanding the horror of war or about death.
After a few days, we can easily go home, wash our
clothes, kiss our wives/girlfriends and watch the ridiculousness that
surrounds us. We can enjoy our liberty. But for a few days, it
is our mission to grasp what it means briefly to leave that liberty and be a
part of something that few have the ability or the
desire to understand.
We do this because so many others do not want to know, do not want to
appreciate and do not want to care about what half a
generation of young men did for them 35 years ago. We do this because during
that time, there were too many who felt that same way
and would not accept their nation’s call. This is a wound that will never
heal within the generation that came of age in the 1960′s
and early 1970′s. As Hal Moore wrote in We Were Soldiers Once, And Young, ”
Many of our countrymen came to hate the war we fought.
Those who hated it the most – the professionally sensitive – were not, in
the end, sensitive enough to differentiate between the war
and the soldiers who had been ordered to fight it.”(p.4)
We have always received positive feedback from Vietnam veterans. It is a
common misconception that we are an insult to them and that
we perpetuate something few people want to remember. This is false. Once
these veterans understand our dedication and our desire to
accurately tell their story, they are more than thrilled. The highest praise
we can receive is to see how much a veteran appreciates
being told “Welcome Home”.
If our imitation is really a confession of who we are, what we believe in,
what we strive to be and what we could never be, then we
freely admit that reenacting is also a serious hobby from which we derive a
sense of satisfaction that cannot be matched by watching
ESPN and chowing down on a bowl of potato chips. If we are to live
vicariously through the lives of other men, then we choose to
live through the lives of the true heroes of our nation.
HOW DO WE DO THIS?
We cannot pretend to represent every facet of the lives of the men who
fought in Vietnam. We cannot even hope to portray every bit
of the 10% of the men who served as the boonierats in Vietnam.
We stick to one specific unit: 3rd Platoon of Delta Company, 2nd Battalion,
5th Cavalry, 1ST Cavalry Division, from 1968 to 1970.
Our unit plays no favorites. Our men earn their rank, their respect, their
accolades and the occasional misfortune of failing as
soldiers. We administer 3rd Platoon as a regular Army unit would be run in
the field in Vietnam. We carefully solicit the advice and
the approval of men who served as infantrymen in Vietnam (from all time
periods). In fact, 3rd Platoon of Delta Company was chosen
because the founding members knew a man who served as a radiotelephone
operator (RTO) in that unit during that time.
We also stick to this time frame for other, much more practical reasons.
Many of our members do not have the time, the resources or
the money to purchase collections beyond what they need to reenact (which
includes the expense of buying an M16/AR15 variant). By
placing our focus to latter years of the war, we are permitting our members
the utmost flexibility in the equipment they carry
(Vibram vs. Panama soled boots, limited use of nylon gear, etc.).
Furthermore, as historians, we recognize the danger in using and
beating up rare, and difficult to find uniforms and equipment from earlier
in the war. Wherever possible, we encourage the use of
reproduction items, as long as they are acceptable, appropriate and as close
to the original items as they can be.
The men of our platoon who do not have formal military experience undergo
thorough and intense military training administered by the
members who are qualified infantrymen. We do this so that they can act and
perform as soldiers. We are not a group of civilians in
expensive outfits with fancy weapons who do as we please. Our platoon leader
has the ability and the resources to call upon the
advice of veterans and of an active duty infantry platoon leader, who
likewise serves the 3/D/2-5 Airmobile (Reenactment) as a
specialist 4th class.
New members are assimilated into the unit as new soldiers. We break up
groups because most GI’s entered their units as individual
replacements. None of our reenactments feature any other American units.
While recognizing and appreciating the unique and valuable
contributions of Special Forces, LRRP’s, Rangers, SOG and other special
operations units, we do not wish to become trite in a
misguided desire to focus solely on a very small and exclusive group of
special soldiers whose experiences did not reflect, on the
whole, those of the average infantrymen. This permits us to avoid the
pervasive and annoying “Rambo” syndrome that is common among
reenactors – which is something that discredits our efforts and the hobby as
a whole.
This is our confession. We are united in our love for the United States and
for the heroic fighting men who served it in the past
and who serve it now.
This article is from the Pacific Northwest Historical Group.
The Military Re-enactment Phenomenon
By Piet Botha (The Heritage Group)
The origins of this fascinating, expensive and time-consuming pastime amongst certain civilians in the First World environment are not quite clear. Once could speculate that this interest developed from the film industry where constant requirements exists for uniformed actors and dress-extras who could dress and behave authentically on the various fronts of a given military epoch, e.g. Crimean War, Anglo-Boar War, World Wars One and Two, Vietnam etc.
Combine this with the plethora of militaria collectors on the one hand and the great number of ex-servicemen on the other and perhaps one is very close to the true origin of the modern-day military re-enactor.
The culture of the generic military re-enactor
The military re-enactors in a given area are grouped, organised and structured arbitrarily but not surprisingly on military lines. All funding is from the members themselves and acquisition of equipment and uniforms is problematic. As the world becomes more liberal, less nationalistic and armed forces are less popular than during previous decades, more and more regular and reserve forces are disbanded. Demobilised soldiers, sailors and airmen retain within their mental make-up the military culture and soon they start looking for a “home” where they can associate with like-minded people. Hence the military associations including the MOTH movement and SA Legion.
Re-enactment groups are plentiful in the UK, USA and in the erstwhile Warsaw Pact countries. Great fun is being had during weekends and public holidays when these groups come together for public and exhibitions or stage mock battles. Such events will be preceeded with careful planning, staff papers written, co-ordination meetings held and this will culminate in properly written and disseminated OPS orders. (How else, with military minds carefully groomed since basic training?)
Re-enactment groups may be formed as one particular combat force, e.g. USA 101 Airborne Division, or containing several represented forces in one group, e.g. British Army, German Waffen SS, etc. A code of Conduct is usually established and any prospective member will use the Code of Conduct to decide wether this activity is for him or not.
Members of a re-enactment group apply a great deal of effort to analyse the cause and outcome of historical battles, and share their discoveries of the true facts with fellow members. These studies are fascinating and these groups play a significant role in military education. This is no surprise as politicians of the time were amply qualified to massage, manipulate, disseminate, withhold facts and provide “Hollywood” material for public consumption.
Groups invariably display good manners and civilised behaviour at all times, not only when they appear in public. It is hard to imagine a re-enactment group of which the members have no military background. When they plan a mock battle the local authorities will be approached for permission. The mock battle will be staged using only harmless equipment and ammunition. Exhibitions and mock battles are generally well received by the public. Youngsters show a healthy interest in the equipment on display as they would have seen the items or similar ones in the war movies.
The Military Heritage Group, Cape Town
The Group came into being slowly over the course of seven years. The origin was mostly based on specialised interest such as the Waffen SS, Union Defence Force, 101st Airborne, etc. Individuals such as Anton Hart, collecetor of 3rd Reich militaria, Piet Botha, keen BMW vintage biker, Michael Willemse (alias Michael Jeep), Gerrit Sieberhagen, Jeep owners, Kirk Kinnear (involved in Aviation Heritage) Dino Fiovaranti (very proud of his Italian heritage) and others invariably met by accident (no pun!) and started to compare notes, discovered they liked each others interests and eventually formed the Cape Heritage group. Due to the general interest in World War Two, the group is presently focused around this epoch.
The Group at present consists of Waffen SS, 101st Airborne, Italian Bargialieri and Union Defence Force components. It regularly takes part in annual Rememberance services, Airshows, vintage vehicle shows and the like.
The Group’s Code of Conduct makes it clear that it is a non-political, non-governmental organisation and the members, while minding their own business, have a deep empathy for the South African public, especially the Youth who will never be in a position to enjoy the camaraderie and esprit de corps of military life. In addition, they know that compared to the USA and the UK, they have to be careful as to when and where they should display themselves within the SA context, having already experienced a much less mature attitude amongst elements of the general public than in those countries.
Activities in public are only as a result of a formal invitation from the organisers. Picture a re-run of the Battle of the Bulge on open ground on the outskirts of Durbanville; the nano-second will get a new meaning when measuring the passage of time between the first blank fired and the first complaint to the police!
Thus the group presently focuses on group socials (motive for unveiling new items…a very popular activity!) rememberance services and exhibitions at public shows.
The Group takes great care to know and uphold the traditions of the re-enacted force components. Military standards of cleanliness, correct attire and hairstyle come with the territory. A loose button on a tunic can be a very expensive omission!