Lauri Törni
Finnish military officer in the Finnish Army, Waffen-SS, and U.S. Army / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lauri Allan Törni (28 May 1919 – 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Alan Thorne, was a Finnish-born soldier who fought under three flags: as a Finnish Army officer in the Winter War and the Continuation War ultimately gaining a rank of captain; as a Waffen-SS captain (under the alias Larry Laine) of the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS when he fought the Red Army on the Eastern Front in World War II;[3] and as a United States Army Major (under the alias "Larry Thorne") when he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War.
Birth name | Lauri Allan Törni |
---|---|
Other name(s) | Larry Alan Thorne, Larry Laine, Auli Haapalainen, Eino Mörsky, Martti Ludvig Nikkanen |
Nickname(s) | Lasse, Lara |
Born | (1919-05-28)28 May 1919 Viipuri, Finland |
Died | 18 October 1965(1965-10-18) (aged 46) Phước Sơn District, Quảng Nam Province, South Vietnam[1] |
Buried | |
Allegiance | Finland Germany United States[2] |
Service/ | Finnish Army Waffen-SS United States Army |
Years of service | 1938–1944 (Finnish Army) 1941, 1945 (German Waffen-SS) 1954–1965 (U.S. Army) |
Rank | Captain (Finland) Hauptsturmführer[2] (Germany) Major (US) (posthumous) |
Unit | Germany: Sonderkommando Nord United States: |
Commands held | Detachment Törni |
Battles/wars | World War II
|
Awards | Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star Purple Heart (2) |
Body discovered | 1999; 25 years ago (1999) |
Movement | Anti-communism |
Criminal status | Pardoned |
Conviction(s) | Treason |
Criminal penalty | 6 years imprisonment |
Törni died in a helicopter crash during the Vietnam War and he was promoted to the rank of major posthumously. His remains were located three decades later and then buried in Arlington National Cemetery; he is the only former member of the Waffen-SS known to be interred there.