In Namibia, August is widely regarded as the month when heroic deeds are commemorated and honoured. On 11 August 1904, the nation remembers the Battle of Waterberg between German colonial troops and the Herero-speaking Namibians.

Otjiserandu, honouring the heroic resistance against German oppression, is commemorated on 23 August, while the remains of Chief Maharero arrived in his Motherland from Botswana on 26 August 1923. That is the same date as the Battle of Omugulugwombashe in 1966. As a nation, we may consider commemorating these events on a single day. One way of remembering those who died for the sacred cause of the collective is the Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier came into prominence after the major wars. It involves exhuming the remains of unidentified soldiers from different battlefields and placing them in identical, unmarked caskets. One casket is randomly selected to represent, anonymously, every soldier who made the final sacrifice and whose resting place is unknown.

The grave, where an Eternal Flame is lit to burn forever, serves as a symbolic grave for those who died in war and whose remains were not identified. Relatives of those whose resting places are unknown visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to remember and pay their respects. Usually, the grave of the Unknown Soldier is at a shrine such as the Heroes Acre.

Many countries honour their fallen with a tomb of the unknown soldier and eternal flame at shrines. The main Soviet tomb for WWII soldiers is in Moscow, inscribed: “Your Name is Unknown; your Feet is Immortal.” The American tomb and flame are in Arlington Cemetery, Virginia. The French tomb is under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Namibia refugees’ remains from Cassinga were buried in a mass grave by Swapo; after independence, the grave was rehabilitated by the government. Namibia has helped repatriate remains to Germany and has exhumed and reburied ex-PLAN fighters in Namibia with dignity. Recently, the remains of two Swapo members who died in South Africa were also repatriated. It is the government’s duty not to forget those who died for the nation. In other wars, such as the Korean War that ended in 1952, the remains are still discovered, repatriated and reburied with dignity in the belligerent countries, such as China and the US. The government should therefore be praised for remembering and honouring those who died for our independence.

There were two comrades whose words about exhumation and honouring the dead I still remember. Although these accounts were shared during the Liberation Struggle, I consider them still worth recounting at this time of commemorations. The two comrades, both of whom did not survive the War of Liberation, were Abner Nghikomenwa, who served as Engineer Platoon Commander at Detachment A, North Eastern Front (NEF), and Mikael Aindongo ya Kashuku, then a Company Commander at Typhoon Unit. I served with Abner Nghikomenwa at NEF, Detachment A. One day, as we passed a place where the remains of some PLAN combatants were buried, he said it would be extremely important to rebury these comrades’ remains in Namibia when we gained our independence.

In 1993, I was deployed as a guest instructor at the Typhoon Special Unit, where Commander Aindongo yaKashuku served. He was a brave company commander in Typhoon who led his troops in various combat missions, including in the Kavango Region. With his baritone voice, he was an eloquent speaker who motivated his troops with songs and speeches. I used to read war stories to some commanders, including Commander Aindongo yaKashuku, after classes, as we shared a sleeping dugout. One of the stories he liked was that of a Soviet General of the Army, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, who was Commander of the 3rd Byelorussian Front during the Second World War and was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal twice. General Chernyakhovsky was a brave commander who led successful war campaigns, was wounded in combat, and died at the age of 37 in 1945. A monument was erected in his honour. One day, as Commander Aindongo listened to the story of General Chernyakhovsky and saw a picture of a monument dedicated to him, he said: “If one were aware that when you die in the struggle you will be recognised like him, it would be good motivation.”

Commander Abner Nghikomenwa and Aindongo yaKashuku, like some other PLAN combatants, did not live to celebrate the Motherland’s independence. The two commanders did not tell me directly that their deeds should be honoured or that their bodies should be exhumed and reburied with honour.

I feel, however, indebted to them, as if they had told me about their feelings in a premonitory way.

*Col (Rtd) Hafeni Hamunyela served among others as a Senior Staff Officer at MOD. He writes in his personal capacity.