MILITARY PERSONNEL

Lauri Törni

1919 - 1965

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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; 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. Törni died in a helicopter crash that occurred on October 18, 1965, during a covert mission in Laos amidst the Vietnam War. Serving with the U.S. Army Special Forces, Törni was involved in operations conducted by MACV-SOG when the helicopter he was on crashed under unclear circumstances. The crash site was difficult to locate due to the rugged terrain and adverse weather conditions, delaying recovery efforts. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Lauri Törni is the 667th most popular military personnel (down from 615th in 2019), the 545th most popular biography from Russia (down from 513th in 2019) and the 45th most popular Russian Military Personnel.

Lauri Törni is most famous for being the first Westerner to become a hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award, the Order of Lenin, and the Order of the Red Banner.

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Among MILITARY PERSONNELS

Among military personnels, Lauri Törni ranks 667 out of 2,058. Before him are Raymond A. Spruance, John Pope, Maximilian von Prittwitz, Cao Zhen, Bob Denard, and Walther Nehring. After him are Joseph Gallieni, Werner Kempf, Ivan Bohun, Takijirō Ōnishi, Abner Doubleday, and Conon.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1919, Lauri Törni ranks 69. Before him are Licio Gelli, Charles Sweeney, Margaret Burbidge, Maurice Herzog, Daniel Bell, and Uta Hagen. After him are Glafcos Clerides, Wolfgang Wagner, Kiichi Miyazawa, Gillo Pontecorvo, Liberace, and Bob Paisley. Among people deceased in 1965, Lauri Törni ranks 47. Before him are Sālote Tupou III, Bernard Baruch, Carl Oberg, Frederick Browning, Aksel Sandemose, and Mehdi Ben Barka. After him are Chen Cheng, Carl Værnet, Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i, Hayato Ikeda, Jesse Douglas, and Joseph Erlanger.

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In Russia

Among people born in Russia, Lauri Törni ranks 545 out of 3,761. Before him are Leonid Gaidai (1923), Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1819), Joseph M. Schenck (1876), Nina Kulagina (1926), Sergei Krikalev (1958), and Boris Kustodiev (1878). After him are Werner Kempf (1886), Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay (1846), Andrei Karlov (1954), Zeki Velidi Togan (1890), Boris Pugo (1937), and Wilhelm Voigt (1849).

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Among MILITARY PERSONNELS In Russia

Among military personnels born in Russia, Lauri Törni ranks 45. Before him are Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov (1737), Roza Shanina (1924), Mikhail Alekseyev (1857), Filipp Golikov (1900), Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov (1787), and Alexander Pokryshkin (1913). After him are Werner Kempf (1886), Markian Popov (1902), Mikhail Skobelev (1843), Sergey Akhromeyev (1923), Werner Ostendorff (1903), and Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev (1843).

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