{"id":308908,"date":"2026-06-05T14:58:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/?p=308908"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:58:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:58:24","slug":"heroes-legacy-paid-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/heroes-legacy-paid-tribute\/","title":{"rendered":"Heroes&#8217; legacy paid tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Celebrating the International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers on Friday 29 May, families that lost loved ones in peacekeeping operations attended a parade at De Brug outside Bloemfontein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) joined the global community in solemn remembrance of its fallen peacekeepers during the annual United Nations International Peacekeepers Commemoration. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This global observance honours the men and women who laid down their lives in pursuit of peace while serving under the United Nations&#8217; (UN&#8217;s) iconic Blue Helmet. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Angie_16799.jpg\" alt=\"The minister of defence Angie Motshekga at the United Nations Peacekeepers Ceremony at De Brug.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The minister of defence Angie Motshekga at the United Nations Peacekeepers Ceremony at De Brug. PHOTO: Lientjie Mentz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It was an opportunity to appreciate the invaluable contribution of the uniformed and civilian personnel who work for this organisation.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UN has been involved in peacekeeping missions since 1948.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then, the UN peacekeeping operations have saved millions of people around the world in about 72 successful operations.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The names of 122 South Africans who lost their lives in operations in places like the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Central Africa and Mozambique from 1998 to January 2025, was read aloud. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-attachment-id=\"309070\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/heroes-legacy-paid-tribute\/img_8280\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 700D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1780056477&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;110&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_8280\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Kefilwe Morea (middle) representative of the families of soldiers that died during UN operations, laid a wreath on behalf of the families\" class=\"wp-image-309070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-1320x880.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_8280-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kefilwe Morea (middle) representative of the families of soldiers that died during UN operations, laid a wreath on behalf of the families. PHOTO: Lientjie Mentz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Several wreathes were laid by dignitaries, including one by the minister of defense and military veterans, Angie Motshekga.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This commemoration is observed annually by all United Nations troop-contributing countries, and it is a day to remember the fallen, honour the living, and recommit to the organisation&#8217;s ideals of peace, security, and cooperation that the UN represents. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also provides an opportunity for ordinary citizens to reflect on the sacrifices made by SANDF members and reaffirm South Africa&#8217;s enduring commitment to peacekeeping operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The annual United Nations International Peacekeepers Commemoration was held at De Brug on Friday 29 May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":308909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_eb_attr":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"author_byline":"","competition_end_date":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","language_version_url":"","post_language":"en","video_embed_url":"","scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7902,1],"tags":[7974,7874,7909],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-308908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-news","tag-bloemfontein","tag-local-news","tag-recommended"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Heroes&#039; 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