Political Remembrance of South African Border War Veterans
Eben Mare & Dylan Mayers
Abstract: South African Border War Veterans, Angolan Bush War, Frontline States, Angola and Mozambique, South African Defence Force [SADF], Memories and Experiences of South African soldiers in Angola and South West Africa (Namibia).
During the peak of the Cold War, the South African Bush wars, (specifically between 1975 and 1988) would go on to define an entire generation. The War occurred in time where there was and increasing fear of communist ideologies infiltrating Africa, this can be argued is due to many African countries gaining independence from colonial powers. When wars are studied often, there is a lack of views from the soldiers that fought in these wars. This two-part study aims to counter this by including the experiences of the veterans that fought in the Bush Wars specifically the Angolan Theatre with the first part having a look how the feelings, perceptions and opinions towards the wars themselves, and how their political perceptions changed. The second article will be focusing on how these wars influenced their personal lives. It should be noted that this study made use of only a small percentage of veterans and as such this study does not claim that all veterans of the South African Bush Wars feel the same way but rather that we see a common theme emerging from our discussions with the veterans that were interviewed.
Political orientation and affiliation
In the conversations about the Bush Wars, questions were asked to the veterans about what their political stances were prior to being drafted or enlisted into the conflict and almost all of them said that they were either supporters of the National Party or apolitical in their motivations. Dirk van Jaarsveld an ex parabat, who initially supported the National Party (NP), and later became a supporter of the Conservative Party (KP), mentioned that despite the party-political context his personal political stance was Christian. Koos van Jaarsveld’s (Dirks brother also a ex parabat) family was also NP and during an election, while in high school, he had to assist his father to build a grandfather clock for John Voster “to ensure all the relationships… are in order” and he recalls “I did all the shit work on that clock, I even built half of it [sic]”. He used this illustration to indicate that he was brought up as a nationalist. It would follow that nationalism engendered a patriotism as is evident in Lood Pepler’s explanation of his political stance before the war: “…I grew up in a National Party house because the country believed, at that stage, [that] …communism… [was the] great danger as it was proclaimed as early as school [years]… We entered the military with a feeling of patriotism. Or, at least, I went to the military because of a feeling of patriotism”. Lood Pepler, or “Peppie” as he became known would go on to become a career soldier, serving much longer than his required conscription years and was wounded in combat three times whilst serving on the front lines, with the first time he was shot resulting in him being hospitalised for two years.
The Influence of Politics
Although a complex picture emerges, it is evident that the NP’s influence was overall strong during the years when the veterans were conscripted. Later in their lives they would reevaluate their political views because of their own experiences as well as the changing fortunes of history – in their case, war was a constant.
Caption: The Van Jaarsvelds (frtl.): Johannes van Jaarsveld, Dirk van Jaarsveld, Sonia van Jaarsveld (mother), Koos van Jaarsveld, Johannes van Jaarsveld (father), Andries van Jaarsveld
There was an interesting pattern that began to surface, that being the amount of interviewed veterans that referred to the fact that they were prepared for battle from a young age. Johannes van Jaarsveld (another one of Koos’ brothers) recalls that by participating in the Kadette “it was drilled into you,” he stated that years later he reflected back and compared it to the same system that Hitler used to indoctrinate his soldiers from a young age essentially comparing the Kadette to the Hitler Youth. The sense is that it served as an indoctrination to the boys at school level, preparing them for their time in the military. We do, however, see conflicting views about the Kadette. Johannes van Jaarsveld himself noted that he never worried about death when he was drafted and was never afraid because of the character of indoctrination showed by the Kadette in which he was a drummer. Dirk van Jaarsveld also made the connection to the psychological preparation for war inculcated by the Kadette and the fact that conscription was a given: “…we also had Kadette when we were in school. We were prepared for it. Everyone knew you were going to the army. So, we looked forward to it”. However, he made it clear that “I would not say that were indoctrinated” and saw the Kadette as part of something wider than just the political. Koos van Jaarsveld expressed similar opinions about the Kadette’s role in war-readiness but again saw it as part of a brainwashing technique to ensure conscription was normalised as part of one’s future. All of them were, however, knowingly or unknowingly motivated by the political and specifically the fight against the political ideology of communism.
“There was a Cold War”
Dirk van Jaarsveld recalls: “It was all the hammer and sickle, in the South of Africa, because they were entrenched in Botswana, Mozambique, Angola and they were coming in. And we protected Namibia because it was the last outpost before South Africa”. When asked if he believed in the ‘Red Danger’, Dirk van Jaarsveld then unequivocally stated “We can say what we want, there was a Cold War. [The] communist attack was real. People deny it these days, but it was a reality”. He goes on to say the following: “Communism wants control of everything. They want total power… and centralised power” and mentions that it is still evident in the policies of the African National Congress (ANC) and their alliance with the Communist Party. Johannes van Jaarsveld is also of the opinion that the current South Africa is much more communist than people realise. This viewpoint will be visited again. Peppie again stated that if it wasn’t for their efforts on the border, that a “Russian puppet state” in Africa would have undoubtably been created and that due to their efforts they were able to buy enough time for the communist system to fall. Dirk van Jaarsveld also places his motivations within the context of the Cold War and after contemplating Afrikaner history for a while he refers to race in his conclusion that the conflicts in South Africa was never white against black, “but it is about ideology”. He also relates that their father taught them that the reason for the war was never to keep the NP in power, but to fight communism. Koos van Heerden mentioned that “communism was a real threat all over the world and, uhm, I felt that anything which fought against communism was a good thing”. He felt so strongly about this that he would have volunteered if conscription was not part of South African law at that stage.
‘Trials by Fire’
Now despite the constant reminders from a young age that one is going to war things quickly turned out quite different than what most of the young men were expecting when they were deployed. Johannes, recalls that his first trip to the front lines was a real “trial by fire” as the commanding officers truly disappointed them. He states that for a period of three and a half months they were supplied with only 23 rat packs (South Africa’s name for the MRE [Meal Ready to Eat], a rat pack is made to feed one person per day). This led to soldiers having to rely on themselves to find food out in the bush where they were stationed. Johannes recalled that oddly enough this was not one of the things taught to them in training, how to survive in the bush. Johannes carried the platoons B25 radio, and every morning at 06:00 Angolan time he had to make coms with the Major, then hand it over to the corporal or the lieutenant. For one morning’s communication sessions with the major, the major mistook him as the corporal or lieutenant and the major asked him how the troops morale was looking so, he told the major that the moral was low due to the lack of food. Rather than responding in a way to fix the situation he called them “a fucking bunch of ration eaters [sic]”. “Rantsoenvreters” (“ration eaters”) was a term that was often used to criticise those who abused the governments patronage during that time. The logistical mismanagement, however, is far from the only things that they had to contend with on the front lines. Brutal fighting and the ever-present danger of the thousands of landmines scattered across Angola also factored into the change of perception regarding the conflict and the politics behind it.
The above points to a pervasive feeling of disillusionment with leadership. Johannes van Jaarsveld, for example, recalls that the food situation was a significant problem but that their Major was hunkered down in a makeshift bunker and while they had to find food, they eventually found out “he eats steaks” and that he organised supplies to be transported in for himself. The feelings of disillusionment fed into the feelings of betrayal by those they saw as their leaders and spokesmen.
Following the withdrawal of troops in 1988, those who served came to the realisation of what was to come in the near future for South Africa; with many of them ending their military careers in preparation. Willem Jakobus Liebenberg (training officer) who foresaw that his government would “betray” him by 1983: “I told them they are going to give away the country without a shot being fired”, but most did not see it coming. Peppie states that the first time he even really paid attention to the politics was in 1989 when he realized that during the whole conflict both South Africa, and Angola were just pawns on a chess board between Cuba, Russia and the Americans. Peppie mentioned during our conversation: “We were sold out by the politicians during that time”. The veterans changed their perspectives, and respect for politicians and the NP as a whole, with Liebenberg contemptuously stating that “…if you can’t get a job, then you become a politician”. Dirk van Jaarsveld, again referring to Afrikaner history, mentioned the English said that Afrikaner leaders were bribeable after the Anglo-Boer War and stated “it is so” in relation to the De Klerk government.
In reaction to a question on how he felt about the transition to the ‘New South Africa’, Johannes van Jaarsveld stated: “I was extremely angry!”. However, it became clear that the veterans understood the necessity of a political solution but not the one negotiated with the communist element of the new government. Johannes van Jaarsveld believes that the National Party’s “betrayal” led to the country itself becoming communist in nature, following the democratic election of 1994. This factor is one of the causalities behind the feelings of betrayal as they firmly believe they fought against communism during the Cold War. With the tables turned, they indicate that in their lived experience they are now treated like the ‘bad guys’. Koos van Jaarsveld recalls “…we felt that we were betrayed, nobody wanted anything to do with us, you know. The last 30 years with the ANC government made it even more so.” Despite this strong belief, not one interviewee of the sample indicated an alternative to the negotiation table, with Koos van Heerden indicating that he has no regrets as “the war should have come to an end in some manner… I mean there would always have been a negotiated settlement…”. Dirk van Jaarsveld mentioned that “I am not angry, I am happy, you know, that the war came to an end and that they negotiated…” but despite this a more complex picture emerges again; The veterans all saw the necessity of the negotiations, even welcomed it, but they are bitter about the outcome and the fact that communist ideologies and policies are evident in the current government. Johannes van Jaarsveld refers to “absolute betrayal” after he stated that “And I am of the opinion that this country is communist. Much more than people want to realise at this stage”.
For Koos van Heerden a political solution was the only option, but he shows understanding towards those who were “pissed off” by the situation, especially career soldiers, as a war that took as long as the Bush War became a career for many. He also opined that he does not believe the NP’s policy of Apartheid was a long-term solution for South Africa. Dirk van Jaarsveld mentioned that the negotiations were necessary, that the situation South Africa faced was not sustainable but laments the “reverse discrimination” towards whites and Afrikaners he currently perceives in South Africa under a “racist constitution”. Referring to all the retrenchments of white men after 1994, he expressed similar sentiments expressed towards politicians but here towards Afrikaner businessmen: “our business leaders also knifed us in the back”. “The world is about power, money and power. You can say what you want”, he cynically opined. For many of these veterans the final nail in the coffin came in 1992 when president De Klerk dismissed a group of high-ranking right wing military officers in order to ensure that the country could transition peacefully into a democratic state without the possibility of a coup. When I mentioned this to Peppie, who knew many of his commanding officers, his response was: “… It was the good [competent] ones that wanted to do a coup, I know exactly of whom you speak”. This, combined with the fact that South Africa withdrew from the conflict stretching over a decade – one with no real strategic value – left the veterans feeling completely and utterly betrayed by the government that they supported wholeheartedly in the war. Peppie, for example, stated that for him personally De Klerk and his cabinet were absolute communists, the very thing they were trying to keep out of South Africa. Dirk van Jaarsveld also has “no time” for De Klerk calling him a man without integrity. All in all, however, the sentiment towards De Klerk is summarised by Dirk van Jaarsveld: “He betrayed us, he betrayed all of his descendants”. Koos van Jaarsveld further describes the sentiment under the veterans after 1994 as follows: “Then we were betrayed, you know it was bad, and you know the best part of it all is that you were treated like crap everywhere. OK, the people who knew you well, they understood it too, you know, they respected you for that as well, but it was only in the beginning phase, you know. In 1994, it felt like we were a lost generation”.
Ideas and Perceptions of Betrayal
When talking to these veterans, they were asked how these experiences (and the idea that they felt betrayed by the government when the transition to a new government took place in 1994), impacted the way they viewed politics or even their voting choice, Some of them such as Koos van Jaarsveld responded that they turned more and more right wing. Liebenberg, for example, “straight up refuses to vote”, and especially mentioned the elections of 1994 in this regard. Rather he is now throwing his weight behind civilian organisations.
The political landscape for these veterans where forever changed when, in their view, the government with political party they supported, fought, and bled for handed the country over to democracy with communist elements. Whilst none of these veterans are against the idea of democracy and the end of Apartheid, it’s the cloak and dagger manner in which it happened, how they were treated after the war and the transition, as well with the ‘evidence’ of communism that left them with a feeling of betrayal.
Bibliography
Interview with Dirk van Jaarsveld, Pretoria, 12 Jul. 2024.
Interview with Koos van Jaarsveld, Pretoria, 28 June 2024.
Interview with Johannes van Jaarsveld, Pretoria, 6 July 2024.
Interview with Lood Pepler, Pretoria, 3 July 2024.
Interview with Willem Jacobus Liebenberg, Pretoria, 2 July 2024.
Interview with Koos van Heerden, Pretoria, 28 June 2024.
Interview with Charl Wynand Malan, Ficksburg, 03 August 2024.
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Eben Marè & Dylan Mayers
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Eben Maré is a postgraduate history researcher and temporary junior lecturer at the North-West University. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 2023, followed by an Honours degree in 2024, and is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in 2025. His research centres on the personal and political remembrances of war veterans, with a comparative focus on the Vietnam War and the South African Border War. Alongside his teaching responsibilities, he is deeply interested in the broader role of memory, identity, and lived experience in shaping South Africa’s post-conflict historical narratives, particularly within the field of military and socio-political historiography. He is currently completing his Master’s degree while preparing to expand his research and teaching career within the broader field of South African and comparative military history.