The more than 600 people who died on the steamship in 1917 personify South Africans who refuse to panic despite the cruelty of the people we depend on.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to the men and women in uniform in the South African National Defence Force, saying they should continue to put the country first.
South African National Defence Force commander-in-chief Gen Rudzani Maphwanya and President Cyril Ramaphosa honoured military personnel who lost their lives in the World War 1 naval tragedy on February 21 1917.