Kloppies: The Story of a Recce Operator

Anyone who has served as a South African recce will have known or heard of the legendary recce operator widely and affectionately known as “Kloppies”.

His personal memoir, compiled by historian and author Peet Coetzee, is based on notes and recorded tapes provided by Kloppies before his death on 19 August 2016.

After matriculating, Kloppies was conscripted for military duty in January 1977, and was assigned to 3 South African Infantry Battalion in Potchefstroom. After basic training, he applied to be considered for the Recces and reported for pre-selection. The pre-selection, followed by the actual Recce selection and training cycle were tough, but as Kloppies was super fit and very determined, he passed. He thoroughly enjoyed the training and was proud to serve in the unit. Although he was dedicated to his career, he was also fun to be around as he was mischievous and a practical joker of note!

Kloppies was a gifted operator. He was a legend in recce circles because he was absolutely fearless. He was also hot headed, headstrong, funny, and impulsive. Like many recces, he could always make a plan in dire situations. The book covers the many missions and funny incidents that Kloppies was part of, but the mission that defines him is the one that earned him the Honorus Crux Medal for Bravery.

In 1998 Kloppies left the service of what had by then become the South African National Defence Force. He worked for a private company for several years, locating, de-activating and destroying landmines in Mozambique dating from the time of the Bush War. On 27 March 2002 a mine that he was de-activating exploded in his face, leaving him blind and partly deaf.

He later became a motivational speaker. Kloppies started taping the stories of his life experiences, which after his death, together with input received from several friends and colleagues, eventually resulted in this book. Although it needs to be taken in historical context, the book is an entertaining read that will be enjoyed by anyone with a sense of adventure or who served in the South African Defence Force.

Author(s): Peet Coetzee

Publisher: Bush War Books

ISBN: 9780620920568

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