Saturday, March 16, 2019

Soldier in Three Armies

Lauri Allan Törni
I had never heard of this soldier before Friday. Born in Finland, he fought the Soviets in the Finnish Army during the Winter War of 1939 to 1940. Finland was defeated by the Soviet Union and had to cede territory to the USSR. (At one point in Finnish history, much of their land was part of the Russian Empire under the Tsars.)

While I had trouble finding out whether or not Vänrikki (2nd lieutenant) Törni had actually been a full-fledged member of the Waffen SS, while undergoing training in Austria in between the Winter War and the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he did wear the uniform of an SS-Untersturmführer (2nd lieutenant) while in training in Vienna. (Center photo.)

When the Germans invaded the USSR in June of 1941, the Finns renewed their war against the Russians, referring to the period between 1941 and 1944 (when the Finns were again forced to sue for peace) as the Continuation War. Vänrikki Törni again fought Communists. Apparently he was not a fan. (Note that for the Finns, the Continuation War was simply a continuation of their earlier war against Soviet aggression.)

After the Finns dropped out of the war Törni continued to fight against the Soviets, this time as part of a German unit. He may have worn the SS uniform during this time period, I can't say. At that point in the war things in Germany were literally falling apart. Scratch units were formed from whatever material (men and equipment) was available. Some units of old men and Hitler Youth had nothing more than an armband to mark them as soldiers.

When the war ended Törni returned to Finland and was imprisoned for "treason." (The Soviets had a lot of influence in Finland after the war.) He escaped from prison a number of times but was eventually pardoned by president of Finland. (One future Finnish president had served in Törni's unit during the war.)

Törni emigrated to the United States, becoming a carpenter, also becoming known as Larry Thorne. Apparently he found civilian life boring so he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private. He entered the Special Forces, rose to captain and eventually found himself in Vietnam where he advised South Vietnamese units and continued to fight communists.

His luck ran out in 1965 when the helicopter he was aboard crashed in mountainous terrain in bad weather. His remains were eventually recovered in 1999 and he was eventually laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery along with the remains of three of his Vietnamese soldiers. He was posthumously promoted to major.

(Source)
In the 1990s, Törni's name became better known as a war hero, with numerous books being written about him. He was named 52nd in the Suuret Suomalaiset listing of famous Finns; in the 2006 Suomen Sotilas (Soldier of Finland) magazine listing, he was elected most courageous of the Mannerheim Cross recipients.

In Finland, the survivors, friends, and families of Detachment Törni formed the Lauri Törni Tradition Guild. The Infantry Museum (Jalkaväkimuseo) in Mikkeli, Finland, has an exhibit dedicated to Törni, as does the Military Museum of Finland in Helsinki.

Even before his death, Thorne's name was legendary in US Special Forces. His US memorial is the Larry Thorne Headquarters Building, 10th SFG(A), Fort Carson, Colorado. 10th Group honors him yearly by presenting the Larry Thorne Award to the best Operational Detachment-Alpha in the command. The Special Forces Association Chapter 33 in Cleveland, Tennessee is named after him. (Source)
A man I thought you should know.




Sources:
https://imgur.com/gallery/UjlwO
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=32651874379
https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/t/t375.htm
https://drloriputerbaugh.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/lodge-act-soldiers/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni


28 comments:

  1. Killing communists, 1939-1965.

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  2. Some men are warriors. They are wired for it. And a maverick to boot....

    I remember reading about the Whermacht soldats in the Foreign Legion after the war... There are several German songs that the Legion sings even now (as I remember, ymmv, etc.)....


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    1. There were a lot of Germans in the Legion during the post-war fighting in Vietnam. Wouldn't have surprised me to hear a German song at Dien Bien Phu.

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  3. Apropos of nothing whatsoever and no time in specific, this story reminds me that one should always know their enemies.

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    1. Seems like Captain Thorne knew who his enemies were.

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  4. Nobody is as bad ass as a bad ass Finn.

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    1. And that is the raw truth of the matter, right there.

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  5. Some men enter the military because it is a job, some are called to take up arms. Semper Fi, Captain, you were faithful to your calling.

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    1. He was called, that much is certain.

      In truth, they took his home, but they never took his freedom.

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  6. Finland got a bad deal during WWII. Supposedly supported by the Allies during the Winter War, support was seriously lacking. And then the only support they could get during the Continuous War was from Germany, which put them on the FDR hate list because Soviets.

    I'd rather have Lend-Lease go to the Finns than the Sovs, but I'm weird that way. Oh well, spilled milk etc.

    I seem to remember this story. Funny that his German connection didn't hurt his chances over here at all. Good for him.

    And good for us for burying the 3 Viets in Arlington. Too many South Vietnamese gave their all for their country and for us (the US) without any recognition by us (the US.) A sad, proud people totally screwed by everyone in history (including us (the US.))

    If'n I remember correctly, the SS had quite a few 'foreign' units, the Spanish Azul, and even an English unit. Seem to remember them taking in lots of Finns.

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    1. The Spanish Blue Division (División Azul, officially División Española de Voluntarios, aka 250. Infanterie-Division to the Wehrmacht) was actually under the control of the German army. There were a number of foreign SS units, including Dutch, Belgians, Norwegians, Danes, Finns, Bosnians, and the odd Frenchman, Brit, and not a few Irish. The 5. SS Panzer-Division "Wiking" had a number of foreigners in their ranks.

      I too was heartened to see that Captain Thorne shares his grave with the men he died with. The Vietnamese people fought hard for their freedom and would have repulsed the North Vietnamese assault in 1975 had they not been betrayed by the U.S. Congress. Those bastards have a lot to answer for.

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    2. I stick President Nixon in with them, too (and I hate to, but he fits). If he hadn't, then they wouldn't have gotten such a massive bump in the next election. I figure there is a lot of judgment waiting for all those involved with breaking the treaty we had with South Viet Nam. RSVN, then Laos, Cambodia..... No, no the domino theory was a myth.... Seems to have worked in SEA.

      Had a coworker that came over to the USA in an odd manner. Was a RSVN Air Force tech on A1E Spads, there was an order given, and he reported to a C-130 with cookie sheets (big flat aluminum pans for loose cargo) on the floor. They were told to sit, and hold on to the straps. Off to Thailand, then a flight to Hickam, then on to....... Arkansas??!?!??! Got a passport and instant citizenship. He was a neat guy. Took me on a tour of the avionics bay in an Airbus... He loved Boeing and hated the 'bus.

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    3. STxAR - Both parties have much to answer for, but one more than the other.

      Great story about your co-worker. A Vietnamese lady I worked with got out of Saigon with her husband and kids on a single scooter. He was Vietnamese Navy, they got away on his destroyer. Many tales like that surrounding the fall of that betrayed nation.

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    4. There are many Democrats, from the Congressional Class of 1972, that will not enjoy the afterlife. They will find it warm.

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  7. Thank you for making this fine human being known to me.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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  8. I just read about this guy last week.. he fits in well here, too!!

    Rafal Ganowicz was asked what he felt when taking a human life. He answered, "I wouldn't know. I've only killed communists."

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  9. Listen to the song by Sabaton titled 'Soldier of three armies'. They cover a lot of lesser-known military history very well.

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