Forums › Index › 1. The Stage › 1. Who › B. Special Forces Members › Lt. Fred Johannes Zeelie
Tagged: janbreytenbach, Rhodesia, SAS
Johan Fourie.Lieutenant Freddie Johannes (Fred) Zeelie (14 February 1952 – 23 June 1974) served with 1 Reconnaissance Commando of the South
Lieutenant Freddie Johannes (Fred) Zeelie (14 February 1952 – 23 June 1974) served with 1 Reconnaissance Commando of the South African Defence Force (SADF). He was the first South African soldier officially recorded as killed in action during the South African Border War and remains the only South African Special Forces operator to have received the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD).
Zeelie attended school in Alberton, where he was a competitive backstroke swimmer. In 1970, he entered the Army Gymnasium at Heidelberg as an officer candidate. He subsequently joined 1 Reconnaissance Commando, serving under Commandant Jan Breytenbach.
In June 1974, Zeelie participated in Operation Focus, a counterinsurgency operation conducted along the South West African border and into southern Angola. Under Commandant Jan Breytenbach, the Recces deployed in modified Land Rovers known as Sabres to intercept SWAPO guerrillas infiltrating southeastern Angola from Zambia. The operation also involved elements of 1 Parachute Battalion, which conducted its first operational parachute deployment on 4 June 1974.
On 23 June 1974, at approximately 17:45, Zeelie and Lance Corporal Chris Hillebrand were advancing along the left flank of a patrol when they came under fire from two enemy machine guns. With Hillebrand pinned down, Zeelie advanced approximately 50 metres towards the enemy positions, forcing one machine-gun crew to withdraw and overpowering the other. His actions enabled the remainder of the patrol’s left flank to redeploy, but he was killed during the engagement, aged 22.
On 6 December 1974, Zeelie was posthumously awarded the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD) in recognition of his gallantry, determination and self-sacrifice. His father received the decoration on his behalf.
Zeelie was buried with full military honours at Alberton Cemetery in Gauteng. His death on 23 June 1974 marked the first officially recorded South African combat fatality of the Border War.
