South African Bush War

Luther Eeben Barlow

Luther Eeben Barlow

Lt-Col. Eeben Barlow is a veteran of the South African Defence Force and was the second-in-command of its elite special forces 32 Battalion Reconnaissance Wing and went as the founder of Executive Outcomes

Juan Miguel Benítez Fernández

Cangamba, at nightfall on 7 August 1983, there was a heavy firefight in front of Sector No. 1 as UNITA advanced from the houses, shouting, and the defenders were forced to retreat. The artillery fire destroyed the last remaining BRDM. In Sector No. 3, Cuban...

Eddy Gómez Planelles

Eddy Gómez Planelles

Gómez Planelles, Eddy (Ciénaga de Zapata, Matanzas, 11/6/68). Sapper. Died in a mine explosion on March 4, 1989, during the battles at Cuito Cuanavale. His body, completely destroyed, could not be recovered.  He is remembered in Cuba, with a school in...

Osmani Bermúdez Argüelles

Osmani Bermúdez Argüelles

(Trinidad, 26-7-66). SMG. Died on 3-12-87 from a mine explosion (six of his comrades died along with him). He was part of a reinforcement column headed for Cuito Cuanavale.   Birth: He was born on July 26, 1966, in Trinidad, Cuba, into a working-class...

Hermenegildo M. Piloto Lazo

Hermenegildo M. Piloto Lazo

Pilot Lazo, Hermenegildo M. (San José de las Lajas, 13-4-52). Died in action when his unit was attacked on 28-8-84, in Luena at about 20h00 (Mortar attack)   Birth: April 13, 1952, in San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, Cuba. Family: He was the eldest of...

Facundo Moisés Rodríguez

Facundo Moisés Rodríguez

Died in a UNITA ambush on November 11, 1983, at the age of 26, during his service in the Cuban Army in Angola. He was a recognized internationalist combatant from Sagua de Tánamo, Holguín province, Cuba.

Carlos Luis Arencibia García

Carlos Luis Arencibia García

Carlos Luis Arencibia García (October 30, 1967 – August 25, 1987) was a Cuban internationalist combatant who died during a mission in Angola as part of the Cuban military intervention in the Angolan Civil War.  Birth: Born in El Rosario, Viñales, Pinar...

Carlos Emigdio Molina Sánchez

Carlos Emigdio Molina Sánchez

Birth: Born on August 5, 1964, in Ariza, Rodas, Cienfuegos, Cuba. Military Service: He served in the Cuban Army and participated in an internationalist mission in Angola. Death: He died in a confrontation with UNITA forces (counterrevolutionary bands)...

Operation Firewood

Operation Firewood was a 1987 cross-border military operation conducted by the South African Defence Force (SADF) against the armed wing of SWAPO, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), during the later phases of the South African Border War. he PLAN Northern...