SOUTH AFRICA - St James Massacre - 25 July 1993 - Things to remember On Sunday 25th July 1993 the war came to us. Our Mission headquarters were a few metres from St. James on the same road. Mrs. Marita Ackermann was shot in the chest at close range. She died about 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital. Marita had twice triumphed over cancer and she had helped start an outreach ministry to Khayelitsha and had also initiated an outreach ministry to Russian seamen passing through the harbour in Cape Town. Marita left behind her husband and three children, Braam, LiesI and Pierre. She was buried on her birthday. Mr. Lorenzo Smith had his wife Myrtle die in his arms. A piece of shrapnel had pierced her heart. They had been married for 21 years. She left behind her husband and her two children, Craig and Mandy, who were not hit in the attack. Peter Gordon, who was wounded in the attack, saw his wife Denise murdered next to him. Denise left behind her husband and her little daughter, Sarah. Seventeen year old, Richard OKill died instantly from a bullet through his head as he flung himself across two young friends, Lisa and Bonnie, to shield them from the line of fire. Twenty one year old Gerard Harker died instantly as he dived on top of one of the hand grenades, absorbing the full blast in his body to protect the lives of those around him. A police spokesman praised the selfless action of Gerard and said that his act of sacrifice undoubtedly saved the lives of many others by absorbing most of the blast. Gerards brother, 13 years old Wesley, also died in the attack. They left behind their elder brother Shaun (23) and parents Dennis and Dawn Harker.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 22:16:29 +0000
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