Lauri Allan Törni, later known as Larry Thorne, was a Finnish Army
captain who led an infantry company 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 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.
Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel
Jerry Hogan Walking
into the Headquarters of the Green Berets 10th Special Forces Group in
Bad Tolz, Germany as a newly assigned Lieutenant in June of 1961, not
knowing what to expect, was the start of the second best assignment I
had in the US Army (the best was commanding a Battalion of over 700 men
and women in the 8th Infantry Division in Europe during the Cold War).
This
Special Forces Group is the oldest in the Army having been established
in June, 1952, after the Army was convinced following World War II that,
based upon experiences during that war of successful operations behind
enemy lines with elements of the old Office of Strategic Services (OSS),
it would be prudent to retain that capability of unconventional
warfare. The Group was specifically formed to conduct partisan
operations behind the Red Army lines in the event of a Soviet invasion
of Europe.
With this type of mission, it soon became apparent that
within the ranks of Special Forces Soldiers were some rather unusual
people. Since the mission of the Group was unconventional warfare behind
enemy lines, one of the main considerations for staffing the units that
would be deployed was the ability of the men to blend into the local
citizenry. Obviously a man who spoke fluent Hungarian would be a
tremendous asset for a group going behind enemy lines in Hungary. (In
addition it would probably give him a much better chance to stay alive.)
The same would apply for Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and other
eastern European countries targeted for US operations. Likewise, people
who were experts in the culture, habits, and appearance of the natives
would increase the probability of successful operations behind the
lines.
Added to these needed characteristics was the ability for a
man to operate in the unusual environment of unconventional operations.
More than likely, the insertion of the Soldiers behind the enemy lines
would be done by parachute and then their only contact with other
Americans would be by radio; their war would be fought, for however long
it took, with the native forces behind the enemy lines. Former OSS
operators, Ranger, and Airborne Soldiers from the American Army
gravitated to this unit. Another special group of men also were there;
the “Lodge Bill” troops. These were immigrants from politically
persecuted countries who could become US citizens by serving in the US
Army.
One of the most illustrious Soldiers from this category was a fellow officer by the name of Larry Thorne.
