Action in Angola

One of the inherent difficulties in study a subject as obscure (in the United States, at least) as the 32nd Battalion, is finding good first hand sources. Fortunately, there are tools like the Google News Reader, which has a remarkable treasure trove of old newspaper articles copied directly onto the internet. I found this piece from the Eugene Register-Gaurd, of all places, dated March 16, 1982. This puts it right in the midst of the 32nd Battalion's greatest period of action - their time in Angola. During the 70's and 80's, the South African military fought against communist backed Angolan rebels. 32 Battalion bore much of that action, and here is but a small tidbit. According to the author, a 45 person strong contingent crossed into Angola, killed 201 rebels, and captured weapons and ammunition. The peculiar thing, about this, I think, is the way in which the South Africans went about reporting this to the media. The captain of the squad, a Mr. Hougaard, boasted that they had caught the gorrilas "totally with their pants down." In addition, they brought in journalists to see the "decomposing bodies of South West Africa People's Organization" fighters. Whether due to the military's racism, their blindness to international feeling, or merely as the nature of those engulfed in war, such behavior probably wasn't good PR. This helps to explain the units reputation, certainly, and perhaps its eventual disbandment.