Lauri Törni

Lauri Allan Törni Larry Thorne
Thorne as an American Army Captain
Nickname(s)	Lasse
Born	(1919-05-28)28 May 1919 Viipuri (Karelia), Finland
Died	18 October 1965(1965-10-18) (aged 46) Phước Sơn District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam
Buried at	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	Finland  Nazi Germany United States
Service/branch	Finnish Army Waffen SS United States Army
Years of service	1938–1944 (Finnish Army) 1945 (Waffen SS) 1954–1965 (U.S. Army)
Rank	Captain (Finland) Hauptsturmführer (Germany) Major (USA)
Unit	Finland: 12th Light Infantry Regiment 8th Light Detachment of the 1st Division 56th Infantry Regiment ("Törni Detachment") Germany: Sonderkommando Nord (January–April 1945) United States: 77th Special Forces Group 11th Airborne Division 10th Special Forces Group 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A743, MACV-SOG
Battles/wars	World War II Winter War Continuation War Eastern Front (World War II) Vietnam War Operation Shining Brass †
Awards	Mannerheim Cross Iron Cross 2nd Class Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star Purple Heart (2)

Finland:

Germany:

United States:

World War II

Vietnam War

Lauri Allan Törni (28 May 1919 – 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Thorne, was a Finnish Army captain who led an infantry company against the Soviet Union in the Finnish Winter and Continuation Wars and moved to the United States after World War II. He fought under three flags: Finnish, German (when he again fought the Soviets in World War II), and American (where he was known as Larry Thorne) when he served in U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War.

Christened Lauri Allan Törni, he was born in Viipuri, Viipuri Province, Finland, to ship captain Jalmari (Ilmari) Törni, and his wife, Rosa (née Kosonen). He had two sisters: Salme Kyllikki (b. 1920) and Kaija Iris (b. 1922). An athletic youth, Törni was an early friend of future Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Sten Suvio. After attending business school and serving with the Civil Guard, Törni entered military service in 1938, joining the 4th Independent Jaeger Infantry Battalion stationed at Kiviniemi; as the Winter War began in November 1939, his enlistment was extended and his unit confronted invading Russian troops at Rautu.

During the battles at Lake Ladoga, Törni took part in the destruction of the encircled Soviet divisions in Lemetti.

His performance during these engagements were noticed by his commanders, and toward the end of the war, he was assigned to officer training where he was commissioned a Vänrikki (2nd lieutenant) in the reserves. After the Winter War, in June 1941, Törni went to Vienna, Austria for seven weeks of training with the Waffen-SS, and returned to Finland in July; as a Finnish officer, he was recognized as a German Untersturmführer.