Time to drop some motivation and knowledge on you fuckers with your warrior of the week good to go? This week's individual is another badass Suomi (Finnish if you're not paying attention) warrior man god from World War Two, because apparently the Finns invented that freaking daggone super soldier serum from the Captain America comics and standard putting it in formula bottles. Lauri Allan Törni was a soldier who fought under three flags for three different armies. Starting off as an officer of the Finnish national guard, Lauri started his career of stomping fresh mud holes into communists (especially Russians) during the Winter War, and continued on through the Continuation War.
Törni's fame was mostly made during the aforementioned Continuation War of 41-44 between the USSR and Finland, in 1943, as a young officer, Törni lead a deep penetration infantry unit informally named Detachment Törni, the unit and Törni's reputation for combat effectiveness was such that the Soviet Army had a bounty on Törni's head for three million Finnish marks. Törni received the Mannerheim Cross on 9 July 1944. In September 44 Finland struck a peace treaty with the Soviet Union, and much of the Finnish Army was demobilized, leaving Törni unemployed. He was recruited by a pro German resistance movement in Finland, and left for saboteur training in case Finland was later occupied by the Soviets, the training ended early in March of that year, and unable to secure transport home, Törni joined a German unit of the Waffen SS to continue feeding his thirst for Russian blood. He surrendered with his unit to American and British troops in the late stages of the war and returned to Finland in June 1945 after escaping a British POW camp.
Törni was arrested by the Finnish state police while attempting to rejoin his family in Helsinki, he escaped and was recaptured in April 1946, and tried for treason for joining the German army, he received a six year sentence in January 1947, and after a brief escape was granted a pardon in December 1948 by the Finnish President.
After a series of misadventures Törni ended up in the United States and joined the United States Army in 1954 under the name Larry Thorne. Private Thorne quickly found himself in Special Forces, (aka the Green Berets). Törni went to OCS and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Signal Corps in 1957, and received his regular commission and a promotion to Captain in 1960. During the late 50s and early 60s, Törni served with the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany before deploying to the Republic of Vietnam in 1963 to support Vietnamese forces there along with SFD A-734 (Special Forces Detachment, one of the famous "A teams"). Törni would go on to earn the Bronze Star medal and two Purple hearts during his first tour.
Törni's second tour in Vietnam began in February 1965 with the 5th Special Forces group. On 18 October 1965 while on a classified mission, his Vietnam Airforce CH-34 helicopter crashed in a mountainous area roughly twenty five miles from Da Nang. Rescue teams were unable to locate the crash site. Shortly after his disappearance Törni was promoted to the rank of Major.
Törni was listed as Missing In Action until a Joint Task Force-Full Accounting team located his remains in 1999 and repatriated to the United States following a ceremony at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport with the U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson. Törni was officially identified in 2003, and was buried with full military honors on 26 June 2003 at Arlington National Cemetery (section 60, Tombstone 8136 if you're in the area and want to visit).
So let's recap. Three armies, four wars and a chest full of metal and an absolutely legendary soldier, both in his homeland and in the United States, particularly in the Army Special Forces community. He has a building named after him, the Larry Thorne Headquarters Building, 10th SFG(A), Fort Carson, Colorado. 10th Group further honors him yearly by presenting the Larry Thorne Award to the best Operational Detachment-Alpha in the command.
Fucking motivating is not? Oh and Sabaton did a song celebrating his glorious ass kicking abilities which is always a nice bonus.