21.10.2013
In their book Tuntematon Lauri Törni (Otava 2013) Oula Silvennoinen and Juha Pohjoinen explore the man and the myth, war-hero Lauri Törni, and based on a new evidence challenge previous interpretations.
Lauri Törni was a Finnish Army captain who led an infantry company in the Finnish Winter and Continuation Wars, and after the war moved to the United States. He is known as a soldier who fought under three flags: Finnish, German (when he 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. Besides being a solder and a captain, in his lifetime Törni became a traitor, escapee and a refugee. He died on a helicopter crash in the jungles of Vietnam in 1965, and became a legend.
More information on the book on the publisher’s website (in Finnish)