The barking of their dogs brought Jan and Ferdie out into the yard, where two men, one carrying a hunting rifle, the other a knife, attacked them. Jan grabbed the rifle as the attackers forced them back into the house, and a struggle ensued, with the second attacker stabbing Jan freely.
Ferdie, at this point indoors, faced a terrible choice: “I knew that if I locked the door that very moment, my mom and I would be safe, but I also knew that Oom Jan would die if I left him there by himself,” he said. Overcoming his fear and disregarding his safety, Ferdie joined the fray. By the time the attackers retreated, Jan had been stabbed 15 times, Ferdie three. Jan believes Ferdie’s intervention saved his life.
Doors le Roux, the Transvaal Agricultural Union security chairperson for Limpopo, wanted to publicly recognise Landman’s courage. ‘‘In the old South African Defence Force, exceptional bravery was awarded with the ‘Honorus Crux’. I decided to create the ‘Boer Cross for Bravery’ based on the design of the Honorus Crux, and to award the first one to Ferdie [Landman],’’ he said.
The Boer Cross was awarded on 5 November 2011, during the Louis Trichardt Farming Association’s annual year-end function.
‘‘It was a major event for me, it turned a terrible thing into something positive. I have always wanted to be a farmer and the attack has changed nothing,’’ Ferdie said.
