US Special Forces Legend Larry Thorne: Green Beret hero who had served under three flags

In January 1954, a 35-year old recent immigrant from Finland named Larry Thorne enlisted as a private soldier in the Cold-War era US Army. Thorne, some years before had been something of a war hero in two different armies. Under his given name of Lauri Allan Törni the young Finn had served Finland in the hopeless Winter War (1939-40) and later in their Continuation War (1941-1944) against the Soviet Union. He led ski-borne special units behind Soviet lines on raids and ambushes that kept much larger forces off balance. Not wanting to stop fighting when his country surrendered he joined the Nazi German army and continued his war with the Soviets until the end of World War Two in 1945. He was decorated with both the highest German and Finnish Awards and had attained the rank of Captain in both armies. With nothing left for him in Finland, he immigrated to the United States in 1954 with the help of the Lodge Act.

Enlisting as a private his special skills were immediately apparent and he was promoted to sergeant and made an instructor in mountain and arctic warfare at Ft Carson. This led to selection for the infant Special Forces (Green Berets) and promotion to Lieutenant in 1956. He was soon posted to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in West Germany. During that time the 10th SFG (A) was something of the US Army's Foreign Legion as it held military men from throughout Warsaw Pact-occupied Western Europe. Their job in case the Cold War turned hot would be to penetrate their former homelands and conduct sabotage, raid key targets and foster resistance operations. In short, he was training for the type of mission that was bread and butter to him in that last war. In 1962, after serving for a number of years in this special force, Thorne was made a Captain for the third time in his career and sent on a sensitive mission to recover classified documents and equipment from an air force C-130 that had crashed into an impassible mountainside in Iran. The mission had previously failed but Thorne's team was successful.

With the Indochinese conflict beginning to boil, now-Captain Thorne was reassigned to the 7th SFG(A) in Vietnam in 1963. Seeing combat from isolated hilltop camps he earned a bronze star for valor as well as five purple hearts for wounds. Transferred to the 5th SFG(A) after his first tour ended he was later seconded to the cloak and dagger Military Assistance Command-Vietnam- Studies and Observation Group, better known by its acronym MACVSOG in 1965. He was part of a project known as “Shining Brass,” which was the deniable infiltration of Laos by reconnaissance teams to scout for North Vietnamese activity. On October 18, 1965 while flying into Laos to recover a team of eight Nung mercenaries in a South Vietnamese Air Force H-34 helicopter, his aircraft impacted a mist shrouded mountaintop. The Army declared him dead in 1966 and posthumously promoted him to Major, the highest rank he ever attained in any army.

In 1999 the bodies of the aircrew were located along with Major Thorne's. He was identified in part by his Swedish "K" gun that was well known to be part of his personal kit. In 2003 he was interned at Arlington National Cemetery. In Finland he is seen as a hero. In the United States he is also remembered. At Fort Carson, where the 10th SFG (A) is now stationed and where Thorne served as an instructor, the main headquarters building is named Thorne Hall. The 1968 John Wayne movie "Green Berets" main character Sven Kornie, was based loosely on Thorne.

Arlington Nation Cemetery listing http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/larry-thorne.htm

Finnisches Freiwilligen SS-Bataillon "Nordost" Der Waffen SS maintained by Olli Wikberg http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/quarters/2130/

Jan 2, 2009 8:30 PM

Guest :

Your fine article would be made better were you to better research the winter and continuation war the results of which were not a soviet defeat of Finnland.

Jan 2, 2009 11:27 PM

Christopher Eger :

Finland fought a long, hard war against Soviet Russia. In the original Winter War (1939-1940) Finland was indeed defeated. The Winter War was ended Moscow Peace Treaty signed March 12, 1940 and Finland made several territorial concessions to the Soviet Union. Finland fought well and remained independent but did not win or even 'tie' the Winter War.

In the Continuation War (1941-1944) Finland again fought the same enemy. However it went even worse for Finland. The Moscow armistice was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union Sept 12, 1944. Finland made even more territorial concessions as well as agreed to allow communist groups to be formed in Finland and kick the Nazis out of the country. In the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty Finland was made to pay $300 million in reparations to the USSR, had arms limitations placed on it, and made to house a Soviet occupation force until 1956. Finland was clearly not the winner of the Continuation War.

IN 1948 Finland was even forced to join in the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union that in effect made the country a Soviet ally if attacked by NATO until 1991.

I agree that Finland was not defeated to the degree that Nazi Germany and Japan were in World War II, but defeated they were.

Jan 28, 2009 5:50 AM

Guest :

I think Finland wasn't defeated in the winter war nor in the continuation war. Finland could stop the Red Army two times, how many countries have done the same in the past? Of course the Soviet Union as a winner of the war and as a bigger country, could order Finland to do what they wanted after. Finland was on the side of the defeated ones but USSR never managed to conqure Finland.

Mar 6, 2009 9:50 AM

Guest :

Finland was technically defeated, but you can draw just about any conclusion from the history book you like based on your own interpretation.

Finland was never conquered. England was the only other country that was not conquered in Europe. That says a lot, especially because Finland is not an island you can easily defend.

Finland always played a cunning political game and reconciled even deep conflicts with then Soviet Union without the loss of their freedom or independence. That alone is quite an achievement and many countries have a lot to learn from this conflict. Many countries capitulated, and paid the price.

Once you are hit, you must sometimes hit back. Many view the continuation war as a mistake and a war of conquest. There certainly were elements in the Finnish military who also viewed it this way at the time. But Finland would not proceed to do excessive harm to the enemy they knew they had to live with.

Hitler demanded that Finns proceed to cut off the only supply lines to Leningrad encirclement and the surrounding area (supplied by the allies from the arctic north). Finns refused knowing it would be beyond their mission and beyond good judgment. The Finns did not actively wage wars against the civilian populations unlike many other nations did. This judgment later paid dividends in the negotiations with the Soviets.

There are also many other interesting details. The Finns used American airplanes through much of the wars, and a rag tag collection of British, French, Italian, Dutch and captured planes. They also later used German equipment. At times American and British planes were used on both sides which is quite unique. Finns used these few planes to great effect to even gain aerial supremacy for long periods of times.