Boekevat and a Candle for Andries Kunz By Ben Kunz

Some stories are written in blood, others in silence - and a few are passed down through generations until someone dares to bring them home.

Andries Kunz was a young South African Boer raised on the rugged plains of Elandsfontein, a farm in the Eastern Transvaal, that shaped the hearts of brothers and a sister and sowed the seeds of legacy. But love, pride, and doubt cast shadows on his life when the paternity of baby Louise - born to Anna, his wife - was questioned. In anguish and disillusionment, Andries left his homeland and fatefully signed a contract with King George to fight in a war far from South Africa... a war that would claim his life on Italian soil. First he was MIA after Tobruk. Then the Red Cross found him as a POW in a camp north of Rome. He and three friends escaped from a train moving them north as the Allied forces moved towards Rome in 1943, but was killed by German soldiers. The Kunz famaly recieved a letter and a photograph of his grave.

Decades later, in 1996, Ben Kunz, son of Andries' brother Jan, discovers a faded photograph of the forgotten grave in Italy. Driven by longing and the need to heal a family wound never spoken of, Ben embarks on a journey across time and the Department of Defence in SA's archive- not just to find Andries' final resting place, but to bring peace to a father haunted by the loss of a brother and the silence that followed.

With his wife Wilna, and his parents Jan and Hettie, Ben travels to Rome. At the foot of a new tombstone in the Commonwealth War Cemetry in Rome, beneath the Roman sun, a broken circle is finally made whole.

A deeply personal tale of war, love, betrayal, and reconciliation, Boekevat and a Candle for Andries Kunz is more than a historical novel - it is a true South African family saga that spans nearly a century, reminding us that memory is sometimes a battlefield, and closure a quiet kind of victory, even in death.

The Author ? Ben Kunz

Ben Kunz was born on July 4, 1947, and had a life filled with exceptional achievements.

After completing his matric from an Afrikaans High School in 1964, he was conscripted into the South African Airforce for two years. Once done with his Airforce flight training, he joined an auditor's firm where he trained as an accountant for five years while attending evening classes at the University of Pretoria.

Ben married Wilna Steyn in 1970, and the couple has five children and thirteen grandchildren.

He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour in April 1976 This event marked a significant turning point in his life and played a major part in his personal and professional development.

Ben started his first business - a financial management company in August 1976. He displayed a deep interest in entrepreneurship and went on to establish several more successful businesses. He started Medikredit SA in Pretoria in 1980, Ring Pharmaceutical wholesalers in 1988, Your Courier in 1988, and Interpharm Data Systems in 1990. The latter was the first full EDI prescription claim company in South Africa. Due to this achievement Smith Kline Beecham filial

Diversified Health from the USA bought this company in 1993. He established his second pharmaceutical wholesale company, Vetvalue in 2004.

Throughout his career, Ben displayed a keen sense of business acumen and leadership skills. He served as CEO of these successful businesses for a total of 43 years before finally retiring in 2018.

Despite his prominent business status, Ben remains humble and lives to serve others by sharing his experience and providing valuable insights to young entrepreneurs.

He is now retired since 2018 and at 76 decided to start a new vision and dream by writing South African historical fiction, modern thrillers and books on business incorporating Biblical principles

Background written by a business friend of many years.